The Demon's Contract
by Ringmaster
Summary: Tired of stories where Ranma goes back in time and fixes life so everyone's happy and perfect? Try this Ranma on for size! A contract with a demon gives Ranma a second chance, and he ain't gonna stand for anyone running his life but himself!
1. Incoming Demon!

Disclaimer:

I possess no ownerships, rights, or properties to Ranma ½. All rights, ownerships, or any other legal holdings are all the properties of their respective owners. I have not been paid for this work of fanfiction.

This legal disclaimer applies to all chapters following this disclaimer, and any/all works related to both this chapter, and this work, by this author. No disclaimers will be posted in the following chapters, save for references back to this disclaimer, since this disclaimer applies to them all in their entirety.

* * *

Well, I decided to start another foray into the world of fanfiction. Going for a non-traditional pairing this time, since I discovered that I often prefer them to canon pairings (Can you say Hermione + Ron equals Ugh?). At this point, I have more than one girl in mind for Ranma to end up with, so just because you think you see the story leaning in one direction, even heavily, doesn't mean that's who he'll be with. So, with that, I present this story to you, my fellow authors, and loyal readers.

* * *

Having read several stories in which Ranma or other members go back in time (typically Nabiki) or they gain 'sudden' foresight of the entire manga series, I noticed they all had one thing in common. Ranma (or the others) rarely help themselves, and only themselves (It happens, but not often). Typically, Ranma (whoever) tries to set things up so that everyone's happy. Ranma gets Akane, Ryoga gets Akari (or Ukyo), Mousse gets Shampoo, etc, etc… 

So I figured, why not make one where Ranma gets a chance to go back, but _changes_ so that he doesn't really care about if he's making the whole of Nerima into a better and happy Never Never Land around him in the process, but was primarily interested in taking back his life, even if it meant doing the hard and painful (for others') way.

What better way to do that than by a little help from first-class demoness Mara (from Oh, My Goddess!) to the, er… well, not precisely _rescue_, but… well, you get the idea.

Ok, enough of my prattling, you get the idea, Ranma gets a cosmic do-over, after Mara screws with his mind a little. Ladies and Gentlemen (and I use that term loosely), it's…

**_SHOWTIME!_**

* * *

"My son, I am proud of you," Saotome Nodoka said, smiling at her only child. Said only child was on top of the roof. 

And glowing.

Neighbors of the Tendo dojo had lowered their blinds or closed their curtains, rather than have Ranma's battle aura illuminating their homes like the sun had decided to take up residency in the pig-tailed martial artist's body.

Ranma's reply was not readily understood by his mother. However, she did pick out several words she had only heard before when American television was playing, and even then only on the channels one had to subscribe to, not the free ones. She paused. Was cursing in such a manner manly?

Under the circumstances, she supposed so. Being able to express oneself fully in a given situation was a good trait in a man. Thus in this circumstance, she decided, cursing was manly.

"My son," she tried again. "Please listen to me."

Slowly, Saotome Ranma turned to face his mother. Today had been a bad, bad day, in a string of bad days, in a string of bad weeks, in a string of bad _years_.

_Must… resist… urge… to… break someone…_ Ranma thought to himself. After all this time, Ranma had finally lost his temper. It was only his father's earliest teachings of restraint and honor, no matter how hypocritical they were, that kept him from lashing out at the world around him. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of him today.

Ranma had woken up, almost screaming, from a nightmare involving Jusendo, and Akane's almost-death.

That was the high point in Ranma's day.

Kodachi had shown up at breakfast, and had come far too close to becoming a fiancée in more than just her own sick head. Her mother had apparently been swayed by the insane gymnast's declarations of her love, and if her demented brother hadn't shown up and forbidden her from marrying Ranma, then Nodoka might have actually agreed to it all. Then, of course, the Kuno brother had alternately tried groping/beating Ranma, depending in which form the pig-tailed martial artist had been wearing, the same time Kodachi had been trying to beat/grope Ranma, all before Ranma had a chance to eat his breakfast. Akane had blamed him entirely for it, Nabiki had charged him for the damage, Soun alternately wept/Demon-head projected himself at Ranma in thirty-second intervals, and his Pops had swiped his food when he wasn't looking.

Nothing seemed to get any better. Ukyo had come to school in a traditional kimono, proclaimed herself Ranma's wife, and dutifully followed him around all day, trying to show him her 'wifely duties to her man' whenever she thought no one was watching. Nabiki kept showing up to take pictures, blackmailing him. Akane blamed him for it, and malleted him.

The Kuno siblings seemed to have come to an agreement. Tatewaki had changed his mind, declaring that Kodachi could marry Ranma, provided that Kuno himself could marry the pig-tailed girl without any objections/murder attempts by his sister. Kodachi had apparently agreed, and the two had made a time of tag-teaming Ranma, again depending on if he was a boy or a girl. Akane insisted that he was leading Kodachi on. Mallet-sama agreed.

Ryoga and Mousse had teamed up again, and stalked him at uneven times during school. Only Ryoga's ability to get lost kept Ranma from being stalked all day. They attacked him whenever Ryoga could find him, and there were no less than fifteen brawls between the three of them before the end of the school day. Akane and her mallet greeted him at the end of each fight. "Quit picking on poor Ryoga!"

Principal Kuno had lined the halls with fake palm trees. Random ones had motion-detecting pineapple mines in them.

Soun and Genma had ambushed him twice at school, trying to force him to marry Akane.

Seven, yes, _seven_ occurrences of Happosai splashing him with water and latching onto Ranma-chan's chest. Twice he had been accompanied by Cologne, who had once tried to shove the Forever Love Pill down his throat while waving a picture of Shampoo in front of his face (how she had found the octopus that had swallowed it, and gotten it out, Ranma didn't want to know), and the other time, she that damn Contrary Jewel again.

Pantyhose Taro had shown up as well, with Herb and his two lackeys, Lime and Mint. Turned out that Happosai had several crimes against him in the Musk Kingdom as well, and the Dragon Prince and Taro had come to the conclusion that the best way to find Happosai was through Ranma. How they had come to this conclusion, no one was quite sure.

Ranma had taken to punting P-chan every time he spotted the pig as a form of stress relief (This also resulted in malletings from Akane).

Shampoo had actually _glued_ herself to Ranma. The less said about her behavior when removal from her Airen was impossible, the better. It took an hour before Ranma realized that Shampoo was glued to his _clothes_, and not him. Akane's mallet got a good workout.

When he had (finally!) gotten home, the hot water heater was busted, the kettle had been stolen by Herb, and two _more_ fiancées had shown up (Akane's mallet and Akane's temper both blamed him, of course), and his mother had decided that Ranma would marry Akane, and all the others were to be his mistresses.

And his girl-form would marry that nice, traditional Kuno boy.

So now, Ranma was on the roof, trying his very best to calm down. His mother, not understanding that it was her act that had been the final straw in what had to be the very worst day of Ranma's life, was unsuccessfully trying to help him calm down. Of course, her occasional drift into comments about manliness, and all his mistresses, were not helping at all.

And now, his aura blazing with power he normally kept repressed, he turned to face his mother, who flinched at the look being directed her way. She was pretty sure that a person's eyes were _not_ supposed to glow like that.

"My son, perhaps it is time for you to come back inside, and have some tea, while we discuss whatever it is that is bothering you. Whatever it is, I am sure I can help you solve…"

Ranma was suddenly _in front_ of her. Nodoka hadn't even blinked, but he was less than two feet from her face, when before he had been across the length of the roof.

"_You?_" he hissed, self control on the verge of breaking. His voice sounded like a kettle starting to boil over, and it unnerved his mother more than she would have thought possible. "_Help me? That's a laugh, mother. Why don't **you** go back inside, where you can daydream about **more** ways you and that fat bastard you married can fuck up my life and my honor against my wishes? Get the hell off the roof and away from me, before I take that rusted piece of steel you call a sword, and snap it between my fingers!_"

Nodoka fled.

Ranma took several deep, calming breaths, trying to get control over himself.

"Shouldn't have done that," he mumbled to himself. "She's my mother, and she was only trying to help. Can't go off on people like that, ain't the way a martial artist is supposed to be-"

"Bullshit," snorted a voice behind him. Ranma whirled, his aura roaring back to life around his body, dropping into a stance that was mostly offensive, showing his intention to want to cause lots of probably brutal injuries on whatever person was going to be foolish enough to continue wrecking what was left of his day.

"Whoa, whoa! Down boy! Just… just take it easy, alright? No need for violence here, ok?" The speaker was a woman, Ranma guessed her age to be anywhere from 17 to 25. It was hard to determine, like she was whatever age range she wanted you to think she was. Her hair was long, and wavy, falling down just past her waist in blonde locks. Her skin was a pale shade, showing very little wear, and looking youthful, and healthy, despite that being so pale gave Ranma the impression that she really, _really_ needed to get out in the sun more often. Her eyes were a strange shade of brown, looking almost red.

She was dressed like a biker slut from hell. Leather adorned most of her body. Where there wasn't leather, there was skin. There was no in between. Two long slashes decorated the space between her eyebrows, climbing slightly diagonal up her forehead, almost like a large 'V' that had been pulled apart at the bottom. Something about her seemed to radiate… not precisely _evil_, simply a very _negative_ feeling, like the polar opposite of what one felt when standing close to a holy shrine.

It was also true she looked absolutely terrified that Ranma was looking at her in a manner that suggested that he might want to hurt her. A lot.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Ranma snapped, looking for all the world like he'd rather be asking her that question while ramming someone's head into a wall. Preferably hers.

"H-Hey! Tone down the hostility a little! I'm just here to talk. Maybe we can even help each other out." Ranma advanced on her, hovering scant inches from the woman's face. She took a few steps backward, until she found herself pressed into the small fireplace chimney. Ranma was still right there, still looking pissed off. A rumble issued from his throat, sounding like he was growling at her.

"N-name's Mara," she choked out, in a small, squeaky voice. Her voice grew tiny, as if she feared that loud noises might provoke him. "Don't kill me…" she whimpered.

At the word _kill_, Ranma seemed to collapse a bit. His shoulders slumped, and his battle aura vanished. "Alright," he said, sighing. "How much are you?"

Mara gaped at him. "What!" she demanded, looking shocked. What the hell did he think she was? A hooker!

"Your cost. What was the dowry for you? What did Pops scam you an' your parents out of?"

"What are you talking about…? Oh, wait, never mind, I remember your file now. No, no, I'm not your fiancée. I'm here for something else." _Whoa, wrong answer there, girl._

Ranma's battle aura flared up even more brilliantly than before. "So, then. You're out for my head, too, eh? Well, come on, I'll show you what yer up against!" He dropped into a ready stance, glaring at the girl as if sizing her up as a punching bag. "I don't normally hit girls, but trust me, today seems to be a day for breaking rules!"

Mara did the only thing sensible that she could. She fainted.

* * *

When Mara woke, she was still on the roof. However, a pillow was under her head, a blanket covered her body, and a damp washcloth was pressed against her forehead. _Wha…?_

"Oh, you're awake. Sorry about threatening you and all earlier, but it's… been a long day. You were the closest person who seemed to be adding to it when I wanted to hit back, and I kinda thought about taking it all out on you. Sorry 'bout that."

Mara turned her head, looking over at the speaker of the voice. Saotome Ranma sat next to her, propped up against the chimney, and watching over her with a concerned expression. It would have been a little bit more helpful, however, if his battle aura wasn't flickering at the edges of his body. In one hand was a small ball Ranma gripped over and over, causing it to bulge farther than Mara had ever seen before. _Stress balls, aren't they called?_

She sat up, the washcloth falling off of her head, and pulling the blanket down. "It's fine. Bad day, right?"

The stress ball bulged to ridiculous proportions, then, with a _pop! _split into two pieces. "The worst," Ranma agreed, tilting his head back and looking up at the sky. "You alright? You fell before I could catch ya."

Mara blinked in surprise at the remains of the stress ball. _I always thought they were filled with some kind of liquid… _"Fine, fine. Thanks for, um, taking care of me." Mara finished sitting up, and folded the blanket.

"So, uh, Mara, right? Before I went off on you, you said we might be able to help each other out. What do ya mean?"

"I," Mara stated smugly, "am Mara, Demon First Class." She waited.

"…Ok."

There was a long pause, filled with silence, and the sound of a cricket chirping. Then…

"'Ok'! That's it? No, 'You're a _demon!_' No, 'Are you serious?' No, 'GET BACK, VILE THING, YOU CAN'T HAVE MY SOUL!'?"

"Would you feel better if I panicked and hit you?" Ranma asked, looking at Mara as if she had lost her mind.

"No. Those are just the reactions I'm used to," Mara said, sweatdropping. She really should have looked over the whole file instead of just skimming the past couple of months if he hadn't even blinked in surprise at having a first-class demon show up in front of him. What kind of life exactly did he lead? Was his life filled with crazy people?

A dozen people in Japan and China promptly sneezed.

"So," Ranma said, leaning back with a sigh. "What do you want with me?"

"Not your soul," Mara said promptly. Even is they'd covered that point already, it was a force of habit to say it again. "What I propose is a kind of trade."

"How so?" Ranma said, eying Mara cautiously. Experiences of this kind of conversation with Nabiki had long since taught him to be paranoid.

Mara frowned, but not at anything that seemed obvious to Ranma (not that he was the most observant person in the first place). "The world system has crashed," the first-class demoness stated, as if everyone should know what the hell _that_ was. "Now, with Yygdrasil down, the primary power of all deities and infernal beings has dropped, leaving us all on our secondaries, assuming they are nearby and in good supply. Without-"

"Whoa, whoa," Ranma cut her off. "Ygg-what? Infernal who? Power supply? Second whatsis? World system?"

Mara paused, and then groaned, realizing that she'd forgotten for a moment that she was talking to a mere mortal. "Ok, you know what a computer is, right?"

"Yeah. Nabiki's got one," Ranma said, his face darkening for a moment at the mention of the middle Tendo sister. His fist clenched on one of the remaining halves of the stress ball. Mara blinked at it again. She'd never seen someone squeeze one to pieces before…

"Ok, you know what a program is, then?"

Ranma scratched his head idly. "Well…" He crossed his arms, and frowned, and wrinkled his brow, and sniffed, and did several other things that indicated he was thinking about it, but this author does not wish to record. "I once was at a hospital when I was thirteen. Pops got hurt when we were training, and one of the nurses showed me this big computer that they had, and it monitored all the patients heart beats and stuff, and sent out warnings if something went wrong, or if it was time for a person's medicine or a new IV, or if the equipment was starting to fail in someone's room. She said it was the _program_ that watched everything, but the program _lived_ in the computer."

The demoness gaped at Ranma for a moment, but recovered. "Good, good. What else do you know?" _Hopefully, he knows enough so that he can grasp the explanation…_

"I wanted to know more, but Pops said that learning about that stuff would distract me from the Art."

Mara groaned. _Figures._ "Riiiight. Well, Yygdrasil is the name of Heaven's computer, ok?" Ranma nodded. Mara continued. "Right, well, Yygdrasil does a lot of the kind of things you just described. Mostly, it monitors and watches over deities, like Gods and Goddesses, and infernal beings, like Demons and Demonesses, like me." She opened her mouth to explain how it also checked into the state of the planet, and the entire universe itself, along with the spirits and guardians of Earth, and total slews of the power of the System, and the Ultimate Force, but then realized that Ranma would probably get lost faster than Ryoga inside a hedge maze. "Well, it does a lot of other things, but let's just deal with what's important right now, ok?"

"Sure."

"Yygdrasil supplies power to deities and infernal beings, since we're away from our homes, Heaven for the Gods, and Nifelheim for the Demons. It keeps us alive, since we're not where we usually are. We don't eat or drink, because we don't need to. We _can_, but it's not necessary. We're not made out of the same stuff that you normal human beings are, so it stands to reason that we don't require the same things to stay alive, right? You following me so far?"

"Ehhh… Gods and Demons don't eat food and drink water to live, cause they ain't human, so Yygdra… Yyg…"

"Yygdrasil."

"Yeah that, pipes them whatever they need to live when they're not in Heaven."

"Or Nifelheim."

"That place," Ranma agreed, "like a… heavenly and demonic IV line, 'cause food and water aren't what you need to stay alive."

"Great!" Mara said, thankful Ranma understood so far. "Now, that computer in the hospital you were talking about? The one that watched people's IVs, and things like that?"

Ranma nodded again, showing that he was listening.

"Ok, if you did something to it, like… accidentally spilled some water on it, and it broke, what would happen to the patients when it came time for new IVs?"

"They wouldn't get new ones. Hey, people could get sick, or die or something!"

"Excellent, so you see my point. Yygdrasil, the World System, crashed. It's not working right now, so my 'IV line' that keeps me going-"

"You're not gonna drop dead on me are ya?" Ranma asked suddenly worried. Mara suddenly found herself flat on her back, and the blanket was back over here, and Ranma was hovering inches from her face. "I don't want anybody dying!" he insisted. "You just tell me what you need, and I'll get it for you. Do you have a fever or anything? You need some medicine?" He leaned forward, and pressed his forehead against hers, comparing the temperatures. "You don't seem to have a fever, but-"

"GAHH!" Mara burst out from under the blanket, blushing hard from having Ranma's face so close to hers. _I am **not** embarrassed! First-class demons do NOT get embarrassed! I'm just… startled. Yeah, that's all just startled cause some cute guy was worrying over me, and was about an **inch** away from making out with me, with big blue eyes, and_-

"GAHH!" Mara said again. "Stupid brain!"

"Sick people shouldn't run around," Ranma insisted from behind her, and once again Mara was trapped under the blanket and with her head on the pillow. From seemingly nowhere, Ranma pulled a thermometer, and shoved it into her mouth. "What's a normal temperature for you?" he asked.

Mara spat the thermometer at him. "The same as for you, and I'm NOT SICK!"

"Well, excuse me, you said that your IV line had been pulled!" the martial artist shot back.

"I was trying to give you an IDEA of what it was like!" Mara snapped, kicking the blanket off. "Yygdrasil's been down for almost a year! It's so complicated, that it just takes that long to fix! Its probably gonna be another six months before its up and running again!"

"Well, if your power's not coming to ya, then why are you still up and around?" Ranma asked, looking annoyed.

Mara sighed. "Ok, back to the IV thing. You realize that this is just an analogy, right? I'm giving it something you can relate to, to _understand_."

"Whatever," Ranma grumped. "But yeah, I get it."

"Ok. The 'IV lines' from the World System are what keeps us going. But if it goes down, for any reason, then just in case, deities and infernals can gain power from other sources. It's like comparing small doses of medicine to an IV line. The 'medicine' is enough to keep me going, but the line is what keeps me at full power (Well, almost. Overdoing it makes me pass out). For me, the 'medicine' from which I can draw power, is sleeping."

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Sleeping?"

Mara nodded. "Yes. When I sleep, I slowly recharge, drawing in minor amounts of energy from around me. But I can drain it fast, _very_ fast, if I'm not cautious. And if I drain it, then I'll pass right out. I'll drain it just by being awake, like right now, and have to sleep eventually, but the more stuff I do, the sooner it will be, and it's not always by choice. I slept for a week solid just to be able to hold this conversation with you. You follow?"

"Yeah, I get it. Without the big computer to give you energy, you have to nap a lot. And sometimes you'll need to so bad that you'll just collapse somewhere."

"Glad to see you got it. Now, because my other power source is sleeping, that means I have to be asleep a great deal. If it was something else, I'd have to keep a lot of it around, but it's not. And when I'm asleep, I'm defenseless."

"Other sources?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Sleeping is just one of many ways we can draw power," Mara explained. "You see, we can only draw from one, and some of them can get strange, and totally assigned at random. I know three Goddess sisters, for example, whose respective other energy sources are alcohol, sleeping, and ice cream."

Ranma burst out laughing. "Ice cream… ice cream…" he droned in a zombie-like fashion, imagining a girl who absolutely _needed_ to scarf down a carton of Rocky Road.

Mara snickered at what was actually a really good imitation of the second-class Goddess Skuld during her off moments. "Right, so, in order to charge up properly, I need sleep, lots and lots of sleep. But, as a martial artist, when you sleep for three days straight, and you're only awake for a couple of hours on the fourth…" she drifted off.

"You're vulnerable," Ranma finished.

"Bingo," Mara declared. "Normally, I'd just wait the six months for the system to come back online, but word came down from the higher ups. All demons still on earth and not involved in a definitive contract are to report back to Nifelheim immediately, by any means necessary. We're to report back, and devote all resources to getting our portion of Yygdrasil running, that way the Gods can get the whole system up a little faster."

"Ok," Ranma said, nodding, and giving the half of the ball another little squeeze. "So… what's this got to do with me?"

"Ah, well, I need your help to get back home."

The pig-tailed martial artist stared. "And I'm able to do that… how?"

Mara smirked. "I checked up on your file." _Well, actually, I checked A LOT of files, but you're the best one to help…_ "You see, by now, you should have been granted a wish. It's marked in your file to have it offered to you. But with Yygdrasil down, neither Heaven nor Nifelheim can offer one to you, because we'd have no way of granting it, nor of enforcing it."

"Wish?" Ranma asked, confused.

"It's how Heaven and Nifelheim compete, really," Mara explained. "Heaven offers one wish to people of certain aspects or qualities, and Nifelheim offers wishes to people of our choosing by our standards. Neither side chooses, shall we say, _evil_ people, because they have a tendency to wish for world domination, or something like that. Instead, we both choose good (relatively) people, and grant them a wish. Heaven finds a kind person down on their luck, feeling depressed, and offers. We find someone who is essentially good, but wants more control over their life, and we offer. Basically, we all go after the same kind of people, but based on what the motivations are for their wish, Heaven or Nifelheim grants it."

"Ok… so… Heaven or Nifelheim would have offered me a wish…"

"Nifelheim, actually. It's marked for us," Mara said helpfully.

Ranma blinked slowly, trying to make sure he understood everything so far. "So… when the system is working again, you guys would offer me a wish… Like, for _anything_?"

"Close. There are some things we try to avoid granting. World domination, horrible disease outbreaks, becoming a God, things like that," the demoness replied, propping herself up against the chimney again.

Ranma nodded, understanding why demons wouldn't want to go about turning normal people into the competition. "So, I get a wish when the system starts. Why are you here now?"

"It'll be, like I said, at least another six months before we have Yygdrasil running again. You want to wait another half a year in this place?"

As if in response, from somewhere below came a scream of "I DON'T CARE WHAT THAT BAKA DOES! I'M NOT MARRYING HIM!"

"But Akane, daughter…" came Soun Tendo's plea.

The half-stress ball exploded. Ranma angrily snatched up the second remaining half, and started squeezing.

"Yeah," Mara muttered under her breath, "that'd be a 'no' right there." She cleared her throat, and waited for Ranma to calm down a little before continuing.

"So then, Ranma, since it's going to be a while before we can offer you your wish, I've come here with an alternative. We're rather pressed for time, as I'm going to need to go to sleep soon, so your decision needs to be made fast. Sorry, but that's just the way it is."

Ranma frowned, but asked anyway. "So what's the offer?"

"Alright," Mara said, leaning forward to make sure she had Ranma's full attention. "Here's the deal. I need to get back to Nifelheim, the sooner, the better. But, the power required to pull open a portal home is tremendous." _Gods and Goddesses are so lucky, since they are host to the Yygdrasil computer, they can go home anytime they want with the system down. For them, it's the return to Earth that's almost impossible. For us demons, it's the other way around._ "I'd have to rest for a year before I'd have a big enough charge to open it. So, it's either sleep for a year, which would be pointless and dangerous, since the system would be up by then, or it's go around as usual until the system returns online. And of course, both options would pretty much be disobeying my boss' orders."

Ranma blinked, scratching his head. "So… What's the plan, then?"

Mara smirked. "Option number three, of course. I find a nice, powerful human to play host for me until I charge up, and in return, I give him some help fixing his life."

"How so?" Ranma sounded interested. Fixing his life sounded _good_. There was the whole 'play host to a demon' thing, though…

"Simple. With a wish, the Yygdrasil system brings into play a program called 'The Ultimate Force.' The Ultimate Force literally _makes_ the world around you conform to your wish. You wish to stay a boy even though your curse changes you into a girl? The Ultimate Force would keep you that way, even if it meant heating up the all the water at the beach to keep from triggering the curse. When we say 'Ultimate,' we _mean_ it."

"But you said I can't get a wish now," Ranma countered. "So what's the point of that?"

"Well, here's where the deal comes in. You play host to me, and in return, I contract with you." Mara waited for this to sink in, preparing to answer the questions she knew would come.

"How would I play host to you? Like, possession?" Ranma didn't exactly look too thrilled about the prospect, not that Mara could blame him for it.

"In a manner of speaking. You'd be you still, but I just need a place to be where no one can find me, and I can rest without anything bothering me. So, I'd live inside of you."

"_Inside me_?" Ranma looked properly horrified at the concept.

"Not literally. I'd just…" The demoness paused, trying to figure out a way to explain this in terms the martial artist could understand. "You know about ki and astral bodies?"

"Yeah, I'm good at ki manipulation," Ranma said, puffing up a little. "And Doc Tofu explained about astral stuff a little after he learned about my curse." (1)

Mara nodded, thankful that he had some learning in that direction. "Well, for lack of a better term, I'm going to change my body completely over to an astral body, and hide myself inside yours, and latching onto your physical body through your ki. It won't hurt you, it's just a way to make sure I stay with you at all times, and keeps me from being found." It was as technical as Mara thought she could get without making him confused. She wasn't _really_ going to go completely astral, but the demoness got the impression that if she brought up the topic of molecular deconstruction and multi-dimensional physics coupled with magical interfaces, Ranma's head might explode.

"And what do I get outta this?" Ranma asked, seemingly placated with her response.

"Simple. I send you back in time to when you arrived here, slightly changing your moral/ethical set to one less… hmm… shall we say, one less _open_ to coercion and manipulation?"

"Co… eh? Send me back in time? You don't even have the power to go home, but you're gonna send me back a year?" Ranma looked confused, but made a good point.

"Contracts aren't completely powered by the Yygdrasil System and the Ultimate Force. Wishes are, but contracts absorb power from the immediate area."

Little birdies swarmed around Ranma's head, pecking at his skull. "Eh?"

Mara sighed. "It's like talking to a brick wall… The _contract_ will work, because _demonic contracts_ will absorb energy from the surrounding area to work." Mara had undersimplified, but the full explanation didn't even have the necessary words in Japanese to explain it with. But Ranma nodded, thankfully grasping _that_ simple explanation.

"So… what was that part about morals and stuff?" Ranma asked, relaxing by laying down on the tiles of the roof.

"Simple," the demoness replied, reclining next to him. "The biggest problem when it comes to getting rid of all these problems of yours, it you."

"Hey!"

"It's true, Saotome Ranma. These people around you play you like a damn violin. All that they have to do it use the word 'honor' and you jump like a trained puppy. I've seen it. _Honor_ keeps you from pushing away Kuonji Ukyo. Am I wrong?

"_Honor_ keeps you from pushing away Xain Pu. Am I wrong?

"_Honor_ keeps you from telling off the Tendos Akane, Nabiki, and Soun. Am I wrong?"

"_Honor_ makes you lie about Ryoga and his curse. Am I wrong?

"If you could, you'd do the same thing back to them! But there's a problem… You're far too _honorable_ a person to do to them what they're doing to you. Am I wrong?"

"…"

In the silence that followed, there was nothing… except for the sounds of the people below them, taking out their frustrations or placing their blame… on Ranma.

Ranma ground his teeth… and the final half of the stress ball didn't pop… it _detonated._

"The problem isn't anything you can beat, or overcome with a new martial art technique, because the problem isn't something else, the problem is, and always has been… _you_. Nothing more, and nothing less. I've known _saints_ who would have pushed back by now. You'd turn a blind eye to murder if the killer swore upon his honor that he'd never do it again! I'd've _vaporized_ someone, and killed off the witnesses by now! In the name of the Mother of all things big and small, I swear if this was happening to her boyfriend, _Belldandy_ wouldn't have put up with this! She'd have gone on the offensive, and knocked someone to the moon! (2) And you," Mara snapped, sitting up and waving an accusing finger at Ranma, "sitting there, taking so much abuse, like there's nothing you can do about it!"

Ranma rolled up and sat in front of Mara, seething. "There ISN'T anything I can do about it! These people have got me so far into a corner, I can't see the way out anymore! The only exits are smaller corners than the one I'm in!"

"BULLSHIT!" Mara shot back. "There are solutions, you just _won't take them_, or your over-tuned sense of honor and your don't-wanna-hurt-anyone attitude _can't see them!_"

Ranma snarled, aura building at the edges of his body. "And what am I supposed to do then, huh? You tell me! There's no way out! Can't pick someone, at least two others lose honor, not counting myself! No matter who I pick, family honor goes down the drain, personal honor goes down the drain! Pick Akane, Ukyo gets disowned or commits seppuku, or kills me and Akane. Shampoo goes back to her village, where she'll either get locked into her curse, or be killed! Pick Ukyo, same thing happens to Shampoo, the whole of the Tendo family loses honor! Pick Shampoo, the Tendos lose honor, and that stuff happens to Ukyo anyway! _And none of them make me happy!_ Not to mention the psychotic 'rivals' that would all be after my head! No way out, no solutions, _nothing! I AM TRAPPED!_"

"_Not_ trapped. There's one way out. My way," Mara said, voice dropping down to a hiss. "_Contract with me,_" she whispered, leaning over him until she was inches from his face. "_Take the chance. Relive your life. **Make your own choices, take what you want, and give them nothing in return.**_" Mara settled back, removing herself from Ranma's personal space. "But, know this. I'm not forcing you. I can't _make_ you do it. This has to be _your choice_, and _yours alone_. If you want, I'll sit here for the next…" The demoness consulted her watch. "…thirty minutes, and answer any questions you have, explain everything about the contract you want to know, but after that, my powers are drained, and I have to sleep. When I do, I'm going back into hiding, and I'm not coming back. Take my hand, and as long as you hold it, I will be bound to tell you the truth, with no falsehoods, no holding back, and no manipulations." Mara held out her hand, waiting.

Silence descended upon the two, lasting one minute, then two. Finally, Ranma spoke. "So… you're going to screw with my head?" he asked, gripping her hand in his.

Mara relaxed a little. "Not exactly. You'll still be you. No memories taken, no change but for one. It's your own morals and ethics that are the problem. You're so hell-bent on not hurting _anyone_, that you won't make a move. It's as if you're playing shogi with a Master of the game, and through some sick twist of fate, no matter what move you make, save one, you know you'll win, but it would be a slap in the face for his pride. Move, you win, but he loses face. Don't move, nothing changes. All you can do is nothing, moving the same pieces the same way, in an eternal stalemate, unable to make that one move that gives you the game and victory, and unable to shuffle the board into a configuration that will let him win, and salvage his pride. The game lasts forever, because he _can't_ win, and you _won't_ win. But this is where _you and I differ._"

Ranma sat forward, interested. "Tell me," he said in a quiet voice, almost lost in the dark.

"You won't make the move, because to you, it's dishonorable to take his pride. To me, taking the game from the Master _is the sweetest victory to be had_. Even if it's a fluke of play. He could crush me forever more in every game to pass, but the one… the one would _always_ be mine. And I wouldn't _let_ him play me again. The last game, my first victory… and his final defeat. That, you see… is how you _truly _win. To take the victory, and never give him the opportunity to let him claim it from you. _The game is yours, now and forever._"

And in Ranma's mind, he found the missing solution to his problems, the way out he could never see, the path lost in the darkness, the opening in his enemy's defense, and the _chance to be free that his honor had denied him…_

…and with it, the horror of realization that he had missed it, and was gone from his grasp. The game had been in play for far too long, that eternal stalemate was inevitable.

The demoness' words had played true, he saw. _We'll be here until the end, trapped in a game of our own design, with no victories, no losses… Now and forever._

And yet…

Yet…

One path remained. The untried solution that sat across from him, hand in his, waiting for his next question. Unlying, truthful… using him for her own end, yes, _but offering him something just as equal in return._

The contract was simple, Ranma saw. _Give to me that which I need above all things, a place to be until I can go home, and I shall give to you, that what you've always wanted._

_Your life._

Mara waited, while the expressions ran through Ranma's face. And carried to her, as if it was an illusion that wasn't real, but for the movement of his lips, was one word.

"_Deal._"

And as they began to close the distance between them, as Mara's body grew insubstantial, and transparent, somehow swirling and melting into his, Ranma managed one more question.

"Whose morals will I have?"

And before his sight left him, and unconsciousness began to claim his mind, her answer filled his ears…

"_Mine…_"

Then consciousness was somehow _shoved_ back into his mind, as Mara's body was forcefully propelled backwards with the strength of a rocket. She careened wildly in the air, finally catching herself on the roof tiles.

"Hey, you ok?" Ranma asked, rushing over to the fallen demoness.

"Yeah, fine," Mara grumbled. "Dammit, boy, what kind of protection against demons have you got on you?"

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Didn't think I had any at all. And if I do, I don't know about it. I've had to fight a couple of oni before, and nothing seemed to help me against them."

Mara glanced at him again, squinting, as she sat back up. "Urgh… felt like trying to possess Urd."

"Well, um…" Not sure who 'Urd' was, or why 'Urd' would be difficult to possess, Ranma simply opted for asking, "So… what were you trying to do? That way we can figure out what went wrong."

Mara finished sitting up, crossing her legs. "I was… you know anything about the chakra points?"

Ranma paused, thinking. "Yeah, some. A couple of the temples Pops and I visited when we were on the road insisted on meditation while we were there, and they told me about it. Every time I asked Pops about it, he insisted that it was something I didn't need to know about, and not to look into mine."

"Uh-huh. And when was this?"

"Ano… I was about eleven or twelve, I guess."

"Riiiiiight…" _And I bet I know why, given what I know about your fat father._ "Stand up straight. I want to check your chakra points."

"You think something's wrong with them?" Ranma asked, climbing to his feet.

"Doesn't hurt to check," the demoness replied, though she was pretty sure she was right. Either Saotome Ranma had the iron control of God over his libido, or something was keeping him from reacting. Most men at least involuntarily dropped their eyes after seeing Mara's idea of 'normal clothes.' Mara had worn them in an effort to put Ranma slightly off, and a Ranma would didn't want to look at you properly was one who was less likely to attack. Yet Ranma didn't seem to even notice her clothes, other that a cursory examination, which could be described as clinical, at best.

Her hand passed over the top of Ranma's head, feeling seemingly nothing.

"What are the chakra points exactly? I don't remember the details anymore."

"The control, for lack of a better term, of a human's 'balance' over their self." _A simple answer, for a simple person_, she reasoned.

"Balance is key," Ranma said, and relaxed a little. "You think mine could be off balance?"

"Could be… Chakra seven's a little slow… but I don't think that's it."

"Could you… like, speed it up?" Ranma seemed to be very uncomfortable with the concept of some part of himself (or herself, as they case might have been) being out of alignment. _Must come from the almost obsessive martial artist mentality_, Mara thought to herself.

"Yeah," _I'd prefer to have them open anyway. Makes the contract that much easier to work._ There was a dull _pop_ sound that seemed to come from right over Ranma's head.

"Feel dizzy," he mumbled, swaying a little. "Feels like I just popped my ears after climbing a mountain."

"Give it a moment, it'll pass," Mara informed him. She brought her hand down to just over his forehead, and concentrated again. "Chakra six is fine…" she said, bringing her hand down to over his throat. "Same with Chakra five." _Details would only confuse him. Besides, they're moving as I would expect for someone like **him**. Chakra seven almost looks as though someone managed to **deliberately** slow it down… but why would someone want to slow down the chakra of knowledge, wisdom, understanding, spiritual connection, and bliss?_

"Chakra four," Mara said, not voicing out loud her thoughts as her hand dropped to the middle of Ranma's chest, "is… wow… someone's screwed this one right to hell." _No **wonder** I wouldn't 'merge' with him… a chakra system this out of balance would be like trying to listen to the radio while in an underground bunker with no antennae._

"What the hell does _that_ mean?" Ranma snapped, his good mood seemingly broken and his long-dormant temper resurfacing again.

"It means that _someone_ has been interfering with your chakra system. Your chakra points help balance your 'self,' your conscious mind. For lack of a better way to explain it-" _To you, anyway…_ "-they help to govern what makes you _you_. Deliberately messing with them is stupid at best, and a vague form of mind control at worst." _If it didn't outright kill you_.

"Chakra point four here is related to love and is the integrator of opposites, yin and yang, into the psyche. Mind and Body. Male and Female. Ego and Unity."

Ranma seemed to be… thinking about it. "Could it be my curse? Since my stupid Jusenkyo curse turns me into a girl, could that have screwed it up?"

"No," Mara said, concentrating harder. "This has been messed up for several years. If anything, this is in better condition than it should be, and I'd say it's _because_ of your curse." The demoness paused in thought, and then said "Tell me, do you seem to attract water, _cold_ water, triggering your curse more than anyone else? Other people with Jusenkyo curses, I mean."

"Yeah," Ranma grumbled. "Pops don't ever seem to get hit, unless he's near me, or I had something to do with it. Or unless he's doing it to hide, on purpose. Mousse and Shampoo are always human, usually." _And Ryoga's the same way. Nine times out of ten when he shows up, he's human; it's just the **one** when he shows up as the stupid pig that **really** pisses me off. Occasionally, they get hit, but not like I do. Hell, Shampoo and Mousse even go to the beach in swimwear, and I go as a girl to begin with, since I **know** I won't stay dry._

Mara nodded. "That'd be it. Your own chakra system in interfacing… sorry, your chakra system is _working with_ your curse, trying to bring point four back into a proper balance. As a result, water actually seeks you out, trying to make you spend as much time as possible as a girl in order to bring stability to your body."

"_You mean the reason I'm a water magnet is because someone went and screwed with my chi and my **curse** is trying to fix it!_" Ranma bellowed.

"Yes," Mara said, shaking head to clear it of the new ringing sound Ranma had induced. "Your curse is using chakra point two, which is related to the element of water (among other things), to seek out the change the curse brings. It's also causing interference in establishing the contract. Want me to clear it out?" _Good thing it's so easy and takes almost no power. We've got a little time yet._

"Please," Ranma said. Mara placed her hand back over the center of his chest, and readied herself. "This may feel a little strange," she warned.

"I'm _used_ to strange," Ranma muttered. Mara just raised an eyebrow.

_POP_

"Holy…" Ranma said, wobbling. He fell back with a _thump_. "That was worse than the first one."

"Yes, well, that was in much worse condition that the first. Shall we continue?" Mara held out a hand, and Ranma took it, climbing to his feet again.

"Hey, does this mean I won't be a water magnet anymore?"

"A little," Mara said, "but only as much as anyone else cursed like you. Can't remove it completely."

"I can live with that," Ranma said. "I feel… I dunno… kinda funny."

"Your chakra is balancing. It may take a few hours to finish," Mara informed him.

"Anyway to speed it up?"

Mara shrugged. She knew enough to get by on. Human bodies weren't her specialty. She was more of an I-know-a-little-about-everything kind of demon. She placed a hand over Ranma's solar plexus.

(A/N For those who don't know, the solar plexus is a dense cluster of nerve cells and supporting tissue, located behind the stomach just below the diaphragm. Hitting people here is good… if you want to **_hurt_** them. Don't really go around hitting people here.)

"Chakra three… hmm…" Mara squinted at the sport between Ranma and her hand.

"What? What?" Ranma demanded. "That one blocked too?"

"No… working well. _Really_ well." Mara stared at him. "You must heal pretty fast." _And I bet you're stubborn as hell, too._

"Of course!" Ranma said.

_And how totally full of pride that sounds…_

"Chakra two…"

"Hey!" Ranma said, stepping back.

"That IS where chakra point two is located," Mara said.

"Yeah, but Shampoo grabs there enough! I don't need anyone else grabbing on!" Ranma snapped.

Mara blinked.

Twice.

"And does it… _bother_ you?" She asked, somehow fearing the answer.

"Of course it does!"

"Anything… else? Does it do… anything else to you?" _Please don't let him say no…_

"Like what?" Ranma asked, sounding vaguely confused.

"Like… _anything_! Anything at all!"

"No! I just hate it when she thinks she can just grab me like that! It feels strange," Ranma said, looking annoyed. "Hey, stop hitting your head against the roof, you're gonna hurt yourself."

_AUGH! The man's got the sex drive of a rock and the emotional range of a dead battery! Chakra two is sealed up tighter than Hild-sama's purse the day before the horse races!_

"Ok, Ranma listen up. Chakra two is _blocked_. I mean _really_ blocked. Like someone was trying to shut it off. You with me so far?"

Ranma blinked in surprise at the attitude change in the girl in front of him. "Uh, yeah. So can't we just… open it? Like the other two?"

Mara sighed. "Yes, but this one isn't just slow, or sluggish. This one is practically shut down. When it's open, it's going to backlash." _And I, for one, am **not** going to be the only female within sight when Mr. Martial Artist here gets-_

"Backlash? What do you mean? Am I gonna go crazy?" Ranma paced the roof, concern written in his face. Control was important, very much to, to him, as a martial artist.

"Crazy? No. Look, Saotome Ranma, Chakra two controls… well, let's just say it controls emotional identity and, ah, self-gratification."

"Self-what?" Ranma stopped pacing to turn a confused look at the demoness.

"Your _sex drive_, Saotome. Which, I might add, has been locked away for probably years, and I'm not going to be nearby when four or five years worth of hormones decide to run rampant."

Ranma had the dignity to blush.

"So, either you go and knock yourself out to keep from jumping me, or I pop the chakra point and run- I WAS KIDDING!" Mara said, glaring at the now unconscious form of Saotome Ranma.

* * *

Ranma woke an hour later, and was rather disgusted to discover that the first sounds he heard upon awakening were that of the Tendo family (and his father) still ranting on inside the house. As he sat up, he felt someone stir next to him. Looking over, he found Mara, the demoness, waking. 

"Oh, good," she said, yawning. She had decided to nap until Ranma woke. "I took the liberty of opening point two, and checking point one after you-" she frowned "-_knocked yourself out_. Point one was fine, by the way. I want you to know, I was joking when I said that."

"You could have said that sooner," Ranma grumbled.

"How was I supposed to know you'd go and knock yourself out?" Mara shot back. "I can't think of any possible reason for you to go about punching yourself in the face."

"Yeah, well…" the martial artist sulked, apparently at a loss for words. "We gonna try it again?"

"Ready when you are," Mara said dryly. Ranma promptly rolled to his feet, and offered Mara a hand up. She took it, and stretched a little before preparing the spell again.

"Shall we?" she said, and began advancing towards him without waiting for an answer. Her body became insubstantial again, like fog, but somehow not like fog at all. Ranma stood his ground, even as she seemed to press against him, but he felt no pressure of any kind. His skin felt cold where she came into contact, before she actually started _sinking_ into his body. Ranma shuddered at the feeling, idly noticing that he wasn't feeling like he was getting knocked out this time. When less than half of Mara's body could be seen outside of Ranma, there was a dull_ poof_ sound, and she vanished completely.

-**What are you doing in here!**- bellowed Mara's angry voice from _inside his head._ Ranma clapped his hands over his ears, not that it seemed to help.

-What am _I_ doing here?- answered another voice, one that Ranma didn't recognize. What are _you_ doing here!

-**This is my contract, jerk! Get out**-

-This is _my_ contract! I've been here for years!-

-**What!**-

_What the hell is going on!_ Ranma thought in panic, as the voices in his head continued bickering.

-… was contracted for him!-

-**Well, _I_ was contracted by him by himself! My contract takes priority, so buzz off! You've probably been _stuck_ in here with his chakra sealed up like it was! You've got enough power to get home, and I _know_ you've got the means to do it, so GET OUT!**-

And Ranma watched/knew/felt in a strange fascination, _watching_ as Mara readied it, _knowing_ exactly how it was being done, _feeling_ the precise way to shape it, and then-

-**HELLFIRE THUNDER BLAST!**-

"Holy shit, that was _cool!_" he said, and _something_ was forcefully flung from him. He caught sight of something dark, twisted, and somehow familiar as it burst into the sky above him, then disappeared into a swirl of energy.

**-Oops**-

"Mara?" he asked, concerned. "What the hell was that?"

**-A little too much… power in that hit…-**

"Mara?" Ranma said, a little louder. "What the hell _was_ that thing!"

**-Don't worry… I'll… just sleep a little… first gotta… CONTRACT!-**

_PAIN!_

Ranma dropped to his knees, grinding his teeth to keep from screaming. It went on and on, his body, his _mind_ was on fire from the inside out and it was _burning him_ and it didn't stop-

_Relief._

-**Talk to you… later… time portal opens… a week… needs to… charge…-**

"That _hurt_," Ranma hissed.

**-No pain… no gain… right? Enjoy… you new… outlook on life… Saotome Ranma…-**

"Urgh," Ranma grunted, falling back on his backside, and rubbing his head with his hands.

**-So tired…-**

Then there was silence, as somewhere inside of Ranma, Mara slept.

"Ite…" Ranma groaned. He looked down at his hands…

_Different?_

They _were_ different, Ranma realized. But at the same time, nothing had changed about them. He looked up.

The _roof_.

The _sky_.

The whole _world_ seemed to be… new. And at the same time, _nothing had changed_.

_It all looks so…_

_So…_

_**Fragile!**_

_I could crush everything I see! No challenge! That's stupid! I didn't get any stronger! It's not like I've been holding myself back…_

_Have I?_

… _I have. Why?_

_I'm sure there was a reason, but don't know what it was._

_How much?_

_Not sure. I know I always win… but…_

_Have I been holding back to avoid hurting my opponents? Why? I'm fighting them, and it's rarely ever an official match. There… is no reason. **No reason.**_

_**So why the hell am I holding back on these people!**_

_**Why am I letting all these stupid people run my life!**_

"… no, I'm not going to apologize, _he_ should… not gonna marry…"

_And why am I not down there, setting them straight?_ With a shrug, Ranma easily rolled off of the roof, landing on the ground below with no effort.

_So easy. I could have sworn that was much harder to do._

_Have I been holding back on **everything?**_

_Let's try that again. The **hard** way._

A seemingly effortless flex of the muscles of his legs, and Ranma was back on the roof. This time, instead of just falling off, he _threw_ himself off, did a back flip in mid-air, and hit the ground in a crouched position with a loud _thud!_

"Wow," he muttered.

The bickering, he idly noticed, was a lot louder this much closer to the participants.

_Hellfire Thunder Blast, eh?_ Ranma suddenly thought, remembering the black lightening the demoness had used inside his head to purge the dark form from Ranma's body. _I can do that, I bet. I know how she did it. If I've got a week until I go back, then I'll master it in one week!_

* * *

Seven days later…

_What a pain in the ass! Who the hell made this damn attack, anyway!_

-**Nnn… Saotome?-**

"Mara?" The young martial artist looked up, not that it really helped him to see anything, but it's an ingrained habit one develops from time to time.

**-When are we?-**

Ranma chuckled. That question sounded a little silly, if you thought about it. "My time, still. It's been a week, so I'm guessing it's gonna be today."

**-Seventh… oh, yes, I did say it was going to be a week. Let me check.-**

"Check?" Ranma asked, confused.

**-Ah, here we are. It should be ready to go in an hour. If there is any business you wish to finish while we are here, I suggest you start in on it.-**

_Not that it matters_, Mara thought to herself, _since everything will be erased the moment we go back._

"Yeah, I got one more thing I want to do."

Mara raised an incorporeal eyebrow at the sudden dive in Ranma's attitude, and waited to watch.

* * *

_Knock, knock_

Kasumi looked up from her sewing, where she was repairing a small hole in one of her dresses, towards the door of her room.

"Come in," she called. The door slid to one side, and Ranma stepped into Kasumi's room. "Hello, Ranma-kun. Is there something I can help you with?" Kasumi smiled her eternal smile. Ranma's expression grew even more downcast.

"Yeah, Kasumi. I've just got a couple questions for you, if that's ok."

Kasumi set her dress aside for the moment, and sat up straighter. "Of course. I always make time to help. What do you need, Ranma-kun?"

Ranma slid the door shut behind him, and sat down on the floor with a loud sigh.

* * *

-**That was extraordinarily cruel.**- 

_And necessary,_ Ranma thought back, sliding the door to Kasumi's room closed behind him.

-**That wasn't a complaint. Just a statement of fact.**-

"Aa," Ranma grunted. "Not done yet."

-**No?-**

Ranma knocked on Nabiki's door, and opened it without waiting for an answer. Nabiki was sitting at her desk, typing something into her computer, when she looked up at Ranma's face.

-**She's afraid of you.-**

_She is **now**, you mean._

-**She wasn't before?-**

"Saotome," Nabiki said quietly. "What can I help you with?" Her eyes darted around, betraying her anxiety.

"I have questions," Ranma replied, slamming the door shut. "And you have answers."

Nabiki swallowed nervously, showing a weak smile. "Don't I always?"

* * *

­**-That wasn't fun at all. You could barely finish asking her something without the answer leaping from her mouth. Why did she act like she was expecting you to hurl her out the window at any moment?-**

Ranma chuckled as he knocked on Akane's bedroom door. Again, he opened it without waiting for an answer. _Because I **did** throw her out the window._

"Only chance," he told the dark-haired girl curled up on her bed, who looked ready to run screaming at any moment. "Don't even think about getting this wrong."

-**You did _what?_**_-_

* * *

-**Well, that was pointless. All she did was squeak in fright or throw things at you.**- 

_Yeah, well, I really wasn't expecting too much out of her. I was foolish, wasn't I?_

-**How so?**-

_I used to think I loved her. Of course, a week ago, I thought that being in 'love' with someone meant that you liked them and wanted to protect them. Looking back, I guess Akane was more like an annoying little sister than anything else._

-**But I thought you said you used to love her.-**

_Yeah, but look at my past. Pops ain't exactly overflowing with fatherly affection, and my Mom was nonexistent in my life for a little more than ten years. And what do I get when she shows back up into my life? Hello, seppuku contract! And a walking blade shop for on-the-go suicide! Is it any wonder I thought I was in love with Akane?_

-**Point taken, but I assume that now you know who you are in love with?-**

_Hell no,_ Ranma thought at the demoness as he walked down the stairs, and into the Tendo living room. _Not any of these people, not any of these girls who've been chasing me. What do I know about any of them? The only strong memories I've got of Ucchan are from when I was a kid! All I know about the girl she is today is that she likes having her own little restaurant to make her okonomiyaki in, and that she wants to marry me. Shampoo? Even less. Akane? She's a violent tomboy who likes to pretend she's a martial artist. I don't know any of these people, much less love them._

-**So do you know what love is?**-

_Not in the least._

Despite being incorporeal, Mara managed to facefault.

-**Then how do you know you aren't in love with one of them!-**

_Easy,_ Ranma thought as he exited the living room and walked out into the backyard. Behind him, Kasumi had her father's neck in one hand and was punching him with the other.

"WHY!" she screamed. "WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME! WHY!"

Soun gurgled incomprehensible words in response, while Genma was curled up in a terrified ball in the corner.

_I don't know what love **is**, but I sure as hell know what it **isn't**. And it ain't what I'm feeling for any of them._

Mara laughed inside Ranma's head. -**Clearing your chakra points has obviously done you some good! At least you're thinking for yourself!**-

_Yeah, well, better late than never. So, how do we go about going back in time, anyway?_

-**Just follow the yellow brick road.-**

_Huh?_

Mara sighed. **-Nevermind. Just walk into the big and black hole in the world two feet to your left.-**

Ranma shrugged, and waltzed into the darkness of time.

* * *

A/N 

Ranma's going back in time! Let the party begin!

I guess I should pull volume one off of the shelf right about now…

(1) Don't go looking for that, it's not really there, but with Tofu's abundant medical knowledge and his ability to manipulate pressure points, plus the guy's living in Nerima, I figure he's gotta be a wealth of weird information. Plus, if you're going to learn as much as you can about how to heal and manipulate the body without using modern tools, I'd think he'd run across information like that sooner or later.

(2) Hey, read "Queen Sayoko." Belldandy blasted Ootaki and Tamiya into the wall, and unconscious, because they were attacking Keiichi. Or "Mara Strikes Back" where Urd slips love potion into a bento that Hasegawa made for Aoshima, but Belldandy thinks that Keiichi's going to eat it as a test of her (Hasegawa's) cooking skills. Belldandy looks ready to knock someone's head off, and Urd swore Belldandy was going to kill her. Very scary thing, to see Belldandy angry.


	2. Here's Ranma!

Disclaimer:

See Chapter 1

* * *

I've reloaded this chapter, expanding the part with the fight with Kuno.

_**SHOWTIME!!**_

* * *

"…besides, it's no big deal for me to see a naked girl. I mean, I've seen myself plenty of times, right?" Ranma said, tugging at her shirt collar and exposing some of her chest, pointing out the rather obvious fact that he was currently a she. Akane's face revealed surprise, indicating that she hadn't thought about it from that point of view. Any thoughts in that direction, however, were quickly forgotten when Ranma turned away with her hands behind her head and added, "And I'm built better, to boot!"

Akane flattened him with the dining room table.

"Now _that_ he had coming!" chuckled Genma, looking at his crushed son.

* * *

-T**his is as far back as we can go. Any farther and Yygdrasil will be active, and the system will reject having two Maras accessing the system at the same time. That will lead to questions from the higher-ups that would be far too difficult to answer. If time travel happens, we're not allowed to give out information which could change the future. At least, Gods and Demons aren't.**-

_That's fine. I was hoping to go all the way back to China, maybe keep Shampoo from getting on my back, but this will work._

-**Very well. Brace yourself, because this might hurt just a little…**-

* * *

Ranma's eyes opened, revealing Kasumi and Nabiki sitting in front of her.

"Ah!" Kasumi started. "She's awake!"

_Hurt a little? Hurt a __**little?**_ "Feels like I got hit by a truck…" Ranma grumbled.

-**Quit your complaining.-**

"Are you ok?" Kasumi asked the boy-turned-girl. "Don't think too badly of Akane. She's really a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac."

"Oh, good, Kasumi," Nabiki interjected. "That makes lots of sense."

Anything else that may or may not have been said came to a crashing halt as Ranma's body began to glow an intense blue color. She rolled to her feet with a practiced ease, stretching her arms and straightening her back until several joints popped, then relaxed her shoulders and body, but kept her head tilted back, looking at the ceiling.

"I feel… good," she chuckled. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a panda to indiscriminately grapple until it screams." Ranma smiled to herself as she quickly left the room, cracking her knuckles all the way.

"She just had a table bash her in the head and she feels _good_?" Nabiki said to her elder sister. Kasumi just looked confused.

They both stared at each other in bewilderment until the sounds of a panda howling in intense pain reached their ears.

Both sisters decided they really didn't want to know, and went to bed.

* * *

"School, is it, old man?" Ranma asked, sending a mild Death Glare at his father.

Genma took the glare in stride, which may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that you couldn't see his face… or any other part of his body, since he was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, rather reminiscent of a mummy. "Well," he said, sounding somewhat muffled, and in pain. "We _are_ going to be staying a while."

"It's the same school me and Akane go to," Nabiki said from the doorway.

-**Akane and **_**I**_**.-** Mara corrected from inside Ranma's head.

"Akane and _I_," echoed Ranma.

Nabiki blinked in surprise. "We'll, er, see you there," she finished.

_I thought you were going to sleep for a year._

-**I **_**am**_** asleep. Since I'm inside you, oh gracious host, I can still talk to you, if I choose.**-

­_Oh_.

"Nabiki, wait!" Akane called, running up with her school bag. "I'll go with you!"

"What are you talking about?" her older sister replied. "Ranma is your fiancée, remember? You should walk him to school." Then Nabiki bolted for the door as Ranma turned his Death Glare at her and her sister.

* * *

"We're not getting married, you know!" Akane snapped at the pig-tailed martial artist up on the top of the fence.

"Did I _ask_ for your opinion, macho chick?" Ranma shot back.

"Just don't hang around me in school!" Akane retorted.

"Now, look, bricks-for-brains, let me remind you-" Ranma said as he dodged an incoming punch from his arriving father, who was miraculously free of bandages. "-that it was-" he dodged again, "-your father who said- Damn it, Pops!" he bellowed, and kicked him in the face as the older man opened his mouth to speak. When the panda jumped back out of the canal and at Ranma, he simply opened his hand and yelled, "Moko Takabisha!"

The ball of ki slammed Genma's panda body in the stomach, and launched him cannon-ball style back into the water.

_What was __**that**_ Akane thought. _When did DragonBall become real?_

"Didn't we talk about this kind of behavior last night!?" Ranma yelled at the water bubbles that rose from where his father had landed. "Or do I have to dislocate your arms again!?

"And _you_," he continued, turning on Akane, who was still recovering from Ranma summoning ki to his hand and smacking his father with it. "Let's get one thing clear _right now!_" Akane took a step backward as Ranma advanced on her. "It was _your dad_ who left the decision making for the fiancée business up to _me_. You know what that means? It means that that crap you and your sisters did last night, passing me around like an old dress nobody wanted, doesn't mean a damn thing! It don't matter-"

-_**Doesn't**_** matter.**-

_Shut up, I'm ranting here!_

"-what you want, or don't want. This decision is mine, and mine _alone_. Now that we've got that, here's my idea on it. _I - don't - choose - you_. I don't _want_ you, I don't _need_ you, and I sure as _hell_ ain't getting _engaged_ to you! So whatever ideas you've got floating through your empty little skull, you can go ahead and get rid of _right now_, 'cause you, me, and your sisters are going to sit down and sort this out tonight, and if you don't like it, tough! You've got about as much say in it as my old man, and you tell how much I listen to him!" Ranma spun on his heel and indicated the bubbles in the canal.

_This… this… this __**boy**__ thinks he can just talk to me like this?? I'll show him…_ Akane fired off a quick punch at the back of Ranma's head.

She screamed all the way to the surface of the water in the canal, landing on the soggy body of a panda.

"AND DON'T BE LATE FOR CLASS!" Ranma thundered at her from the sidewalk.

* * *

Ranma enjoyed his stroll to school, since Akane had marched off for Doctor Tofu's office to dry off before going to class. He walked by the old lady who was scooping water onto her sidewalk, and was amazed that she didn't hit him at all. He'd been tagged by her from across the street sometimes, it seemed.

-**It's the release of your chakra, remember? Your internal ki system isn't using your curse to try and make you balance anymore.**-

_No more water magnet,_ Ranma though happily. Feeling that Mara was about to correct him, he added, _Ok, not as much, but still,__** big**__ difference!_

Mara chuckled. -**You know, I'm surprised you haven't brought up the issue of your chakra system being messed with to your father. I would have thought you would've thrown that in his face at the earliest opportunity available.**

_Oh, I'm saving that for a special occasion, like when he does his little 'Oh, what have I done to deserve such a dishonorable son? You should marry a Tendo right this second to atone!' speeches. Besides, I've got a new attack I'm working on, and I want to perfect it before I tell him._

**-Why?-**

_So I can hit him with it._

Inside his head, Mara burst out laughing.

When Ranma got to the gates, he discovered that he had apparently taken longer than he thought, since he found Akane perfectly dry, and beating off the Hentai Horde as he waltzed in.

"Ranma!" Nabiki called from one of the upper windows. "Get in this school! Now!"

Ranma just smiled and waved at the middle Tendo sister, continuing towards the doors, ignoring Akane as she commented on the boys defeated at her feet, and Kuno Tatewaki's opening speech. Obnoxiously, a rose smacked him in the head as he tried to walk passed them.

_Oh, look, its Kuno… looks as stupid as ever. _Feeling amused by doing so, Ranma focused on the Soul of Ice technique, and pulled ki into his hand, freezing the rose into a solid chunk of ice. It shattered on the ground, bouncing into a dozen fragments. Kuno fumed, angered. Not that Ranma cared, since he promptly turned his back on him and Akane, and continued for the school doors.

"Hold, boor!" Kuno bellowed at Ranma. "Who are you to intercept my flowery declaration of affection towards Tendo Akane?"

"Oh, god, please, no inbred stupidity this early in the morning," muttered Ranma.

Akane chuckled, overhearing him.

"How dare you use foul comments to induce the wonderful laughter of my fierce tigress!" bellowed Kuno, brandishing his bokken in Ranma's direction. "Who are you to act so casually around her?" Not even waiting for Ranma to speak, he continued, "Ah! But it is the custom to give one's own name first! Fine then, mine I shall give!" Kuno stuck himself in his 'noble' pose. "My name is Upperclassman Kuno. Junior Group E. Captain of the Kendo Club. Undefeated new star of the High School fencing world. But my peers call me… the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High."

Ranma groaned, sinking his head into his hands. "Sweet Christ on a crutch, I think my IQ dropped twenty points just _listening_ to you."

Kuno bristled.

"I am Saotome Ranma. Heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I invented the Squirrel Maneuver."

"The what?"

Ranma swung his leg into the space between Kuno's legs. The Blue Thunder dropped lack a sack of potatoes, whimpering like a puppy.

"And I don't want to be late on my first day."

Ranma laughed at the shocked faces of the students of Furinkan High, and strolled through the double doors of the school building, feeling like a king. Hell, he could almost hear the celebratory music.

Outside, a panda stood at the gates, gaping stupidly as it started to rain.

-**Was **_**that**_** the new move?-**

_Don't be stupid, of course not!_

* * *

"Class, this is Saotome Ranma. He was recently in China, and he will be joining us for the duration of the school year. Everyone should make him feel welcome. Saotome-kun, since you seem to be familiar with her already, please sit next to Tendo Akane."

Frowning at his inability to stay away from the tomboy, Ranma did as he was instructed, as the teacher started in on his lessons. Moments after the teacher's back was turned, a note was passed to him from a girl in the corner.

'_Squirrel Maneuver?_'

Ranma grinned, and scribbled out an answer, before flinging in back across the room, landing perfectly on the girl's desk. After opening it, she had to cover her mouth to hide the smile, before passing the note along for others to read.

-**Oh, I like that. 'Just go for the nuts.'**-

Ranma 's grin grew wider.

Then he slumped his head against the desk as Kuno ripped open the class door, buckets of water flying. The word 'BUFFOON' was stenciled on his forehead in bruises. Ranma smirked, seeing it. _Gotta love that Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken._

-**Just be thankful I corrected you on the spelling.**-

"Never, Saotome Ranma! I shall never accept your enga- Urk!" Another ball of blue-white ki nailed him in the stomach, chucking the Blue Thunder out of the doorway and into the hall.

"Can you excuse me, sensei?" Ranma asked, rising to his feet. "I just need to hurt an idiot, then I'll come back to class."

Startled, though not entirely surprised by Kuno's actions, the teacher of class 1-F nodded, and gestured for Ranma to go after the slowly rising Kuno.

Ranma sighed, walking out of the door, and shutting it behind him.

"Damn… you… foul… Saotome…" the class heard from the other side.

Ranma's answer was somewhat cryptic, but understood as probably painful. "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire revised: One Thousand Strikes of the Angry Squirrel!"

Kuno's (high-pitched) screams resounded through the school.

When Ranma reentered the classroom, he smiled at the class, which responded with a massive sweatdrop.

"I kicked him out the window," he announced.

"But this is the third floor!" objected Akane.

"He's fine. Kuno probably fell in the pool," Ranma replied, returning to his seat.

"_PROBABLY?_" Akane screeched, rising to her feet. "What kind of martial artist-"

"Tendo!" snapped the teacher.

Realizing that she was still in class, Akane's mouth snapped shut. "Hai, sensei?"

"No yelling in class. Go stand in the hall."

_Oops_, she thought, and headed for the buckets.

* * *

"So," Nabiki asked her two sisters. "Why exactly are we here? I thought we settled the engagement thing the other night." The sisters, Ranma (in girl form), and the parents were all in Kasumi's room.

Ranma frowned, but not at Nabiki. It was directed at the idiot duo that consisted of the Tendo and Saotome fathers. "I don't recall asking you two fools to join this conversation," she snapped.

"Now, son," Soun started, with Genma nodding to show support for whatever his friend was about to say. "This concerns the future of both of the schools, and the marriage of my youngest daughter, Akane! I think-"

"So what name will the school go under after the marriage? Saotome or Tendo?" Ranma interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"Ah, of course, it will be Tendo!" Soun declared. Genma frowned.

"No, surely it will be Saotome," replied Genma.

"But it's the _Tendo_ dojo," shot back Soun. Ranma started pushing them both towards the door.

"But the _Saotome_ school will be bringing more Art to the schools," the panda man objected. Ranma shoved them out into the hallway, both of them now too occupied to notice she was doing so.

"But the _Tendo_-" Soun was cut off as Ranma shut the door.

"Nicely done," Nabiki complimented. Ranma snorted.

"Please. Getting those two distracted is as easy as opening a sake bottle. In fact, that's a good way to distract them in the first place."

"Sad, but ultimately true," the middle Tendo sister said with a sigh.

Ranma allowed herself a brief smile, before turning a withering cold stare at Akane. "You. Out."

"If you think-"

"I do," the pig-tailed martial artist interrupted. "And I don't think you ever have. I told you what this was about earlier. Get out."

"I'm not leaving you alone with my sisters, you pervert!" Akane snapped, turning her most defiant glare on the sex-changing boy.

* * *

The koi were swimming peacefully, and occasionally flitting to the surface to jump at an insect, when, strangely, a new bug they had never seen entered the pool. Larger than any other bug, many times bigger than the fish themselves!

"IT'S _COLD!_" Akane screamed.

* * *

Ranma slid the window shut, slapping the blinds closed. When she turned around, it was to the astonished stares of the elders of the three Tendo sisters.

"What?"

"You threw her out of the window!" Nabiki said, shocked.

"So?" Ranma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You _threw_ her _out_ of the _window_!"

"What, you wanna go next?"

Nabiki's eyes widened. "No, I'm fine. Definitely fine." _So much for the 'somewhat gullible' first impression I had. I guess he was just, what? Nervous meeting new people? Or was embarrassed because he met us as a girl first? Kasumi did say he seemed kinda nervous when she first mentioned a bath to him…_

"Excellent!" Ranma declared, setting herself in a chair next to Kasumi's desk. "Well, now that we know that I'm not going to need to demonstrate that the window is a perfect exit in case of a fire, let's start with what we know. Firstly, I was summarily passed off to Akane much in the same fashion of a second-hand piece of clothing that doesn't fit, and is somewhat out of style. Secondly, the best reasons I can think of for this, is that Kasumi isn't interested in younger men, and that neither Nabiki nor Kasumi want to marry someone who can pick his gender for the day in the same fashion that you pick out your shirts. Sound about right?"

Kasumi look ashamed, while Nabiki blushed lightly, but neither disagreed.

"Now that we know that, here're the things we don't know. Ranma is in a very bad mood. In fact, he's in the worst mood that he has been in for probably all of my life. The reason for this, would be oh…" Mara snickered and mumbled something. Ranma grinned. "… call it the human condition known as You Are All Greedy Morons, And Use Me As Scapegoat. In the past eleven years, I have been sold by my father more times that I care to count, to probably dozens of people, for things ranging from yattai carts, to bowls of rice, all in exchange for my hand in marriage, without my knowledge or consent. I have been put through exercises that would be considered violations of the Geneva Convention in the name of 'martial arts training,' including being tossed to a covered pit of fifty starving cats… a dozen times… coated in fish products."

Nabiki and Kasumi looked properly horrified at this concept.

"I have been beaten, belittled, and used like a shogi piece in my old man's push for a lazy retirement. I have had my mind manipulated, been drugged, and poisoned by some of the 'fiancées' who have tracked me down, intent on taking their anger for my father out on me, my father's manipulations at work again. I have been cursed, possessed-"

-**Hey!-**

"-tied to speeding trains, thrown in raging rivers with my arms tied, smashed upside the head with heavy weaponry by abusive young girls, almost incinerated, almost frozen, fought demons and gods, been told I am nothing but a perverted idiot, been locked in my cursed form _multiple_ times, degraded myself for potential cures that were dangled in front of my face only to find that they were not going to work in the first place, dragged all over Japan and China by a man who tried to convince me my mother was dead, ever since he took me from her at the age of five. I have been groped and detonated with explosives, while my 'friends' pushed me towards the bombs and perverts to save themselves. And all of this on a continuing basis since I started my 'training.'"

The blood had drained from Nabiki's face by this point, and Kasumi was rapidly approaching a state of shock.

"Have we got all that?" Ranma asked, reclining in her chair. Nabiki nodded. Kasumi whimpered, but Ranma decided that was probably a 'yes' of some kind. "Ok, then! Here's the final part. I am the best martial artist this world has to offer." Kasumi's shocked face remained, but blinked in surprise, while Nabiki began to look doubtful. "Don't believe me? In less than two years, I have learned to do at will what most people can only begin to accomplish after decades of work. I can summon the ki from my body and use it as a weapon. Go check with my class, they saw me wield it against Kuno-baka. Or your sister, she watched when I smashed my fat Pops in the stomach with it, and blasted him into the canals. I can punch you a thousand times over the space of seconds without breaking a sweat. I could jump this entire house if I decided to. If I so desire, I can and _have_ been known to use an attack that creates a _tornado_ out of ki and throw my opponents for miles. I can become invisible at will, and create blades out of nothing that can slice through buildings. I can shatter boulders with the touch of a finger, or pick them up whole and crush you under them. I can manipulate the pressure points on your body to make you so sensitive to heat that even mildly warm water will leave you screaming, or take away your strength to the point where lifting a carton of milk is like hefting a hundred-kilo weight." Ranma eyeballed the two girls in front of her. "And if there is any doubt of what I just said, I will show you. Just ask, but I'm not a circus pony. I don't perform for crowds," she added, seeing the speculative gleam in Nabiki's eyes. "And after everything I've been through, I'm also more than willing to _enforce_ my decisions."

Kasumi didn't seem to get that last part, but Nabiki swallowed nervously, telling Ranma that the middle Tendo sister had gotten the not-so-hidden message that had been meant specifically for her. _Try to use me, and I'll use you as a practice dummy._

"Is anything I've said yet not understood?"

Nabiki and Kasumi shared a glance, but then agreed that they understood, if were not a little shocked by it all.

Ranma smiled at them. "Here's the fun part. You remember what your dad said to me last night?"

"Um, no?"

"Which part?"

Ranma sighed. "The part where he said 'Pick the one you want. She's your fiancée.'"

Nabiki promptly paled again in reflex, while Kasumi's reaction was for confusion to cross her face.

"Nabiki, since you seem to have gotten it, would you explain it to Kasumi?"

"Well, sis," Nabiki said, her voice perfectly flat. "He means that Daddy left the decision for who would marry him up to Ranma, and if I were to guess," she said, casting a glance in Ranma's direction, "I would have to say that Ranma has had enough of 'violent, abusive people'-" Ranma nodded in agreement. "-and that means that the one girl he's _not_ going to choose would be the 'violent maniac' of the family. So that means one of us is up for marriage instead." Nabiki frowned. "So who's is going to be, Saotome?"

"Up to you two," the pig-tailed martial artist said, waving a hand dismissively. "But let's get a few questions I know you probably want to ask out of the way. Firstly, I'm not a total jerk, despite how I might seem at the moment. I'm just… stressed." Ranma slumped back in the chair, relaxing and stretching her legs out. "The next, is that I'm not anything _near_ what you could call traditional. I'm not going to turn you into a dutiful housewife, just because that's what some guys want. If I marry, I don't want a servant, I want a wife. Better than a wife, I'd rather have a friend. My total number of friends right now is zero."

-**Don't I count?**- pouted Mara in a playful voice.

Ranma imagined herself sticking her tongue out, and stretching her cheeks. The demoness laughed.

"The next is, I'm not a control freak like some guys I know. If you want to have a life, be my guest. We're not exactly meeting on the best of terms, I know. I don't expect either of you to fall in love with me just because our parents decided when they were drunk that we were going to marry before any of us were born. Married life with me ain't gonna be _normal_. You gotta understand what you're getting yourself into." She sat up straight and looked Nabiki and Kasumi in the eyes. "From the looks of your dad, he hasn't practiced in a while, so I don't know if you can remember what it's like to live with a martial artist. It means that I'm going to practice, and practice _alot._ It's what I'm good at, and I think its fun. At some point in the future, I'd like to teach. I want to do tournaments, which I'll probably win, and have challengers show up at odd moments wanting to test themselves against me. But thanks to my old man, there're some people in my past that might come calling, and they're not all nice, and most are dishonorable pigs." Ranma smirked at that. "But we can get into that later. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you get engaged to me, don't think that means your life ends. Neither of you has a life right now, so not a big change even if it did. So, since I'm not gonna run your life for you, that means you got to do it. If you want to be a business woman, go for it. If there's a job you've dreamed of having, try and get it. Or hobbies that you've wanted to try. Or whatever. I don't need a maid. I don't need to have someone waiting for me when I get home, to serve me like we were living two hundred years ago. If you can cook, great. If not, I can cook sometimes, or takeout if we can afford it. If you want to go out with your friends, ok. Just let me know, because I'm kinda paranoid, and I've been told I'm an overprotective jerk." She shrugged. "Couple that with martial artist, and that usually means that if I think you're in trouble, I have a tendency to carve a path out of the people between us until I'm sure you're safe. I've done it before, even when I'm wrong about it."

Ranma paused, then burst out laughing. "I think that's the longest speech I've ever given in my life!" Nabiki blinked in surprise, then smiled. Kasumi hid a giggle behind her hand.

"Ok, last thing I think you should know. Yes, I can be a girl, or a boy. I can change whenever I want. I've even gone to ice cream parlors and scammed the guys behind the counter out of free ice cream with a cute smile and a good bounce."

Nabiki laughed out loud, but Kasumi looked scandalized.

"I guess the one thing you have in the back of your minds, is what it's going to mean being married to someone who's not always a boy." Ranma idly scratched the back of her head. "Despite what your sister says, I'm not a pervert. I'm not going to force you to do something with my girl side. Hell, I'm not going to force you to do something with my _boy_ side. I'm not going to force you to do anything. If we see each other out somewhere, I don't care if you treat me a little different because I'm the wrong gender for you to be attracted to, even if we've been married for years. Better get used to it, 'cause there's no cure. Believe me, I know that there ain't."

Nabiki raised her hand. Ranma stared at her. "This ain't school, y'know."

"I just wanted to know if you're different when you change. Your mind, I mean."

Ranma shook her head. "No, it's the same person who looks at everything the same. The only things that changes is the body. Hell, if it happens quickly enough, I don't always notice it until someone points it out."

"So it's always a guy inside?"

"Yeah. Oh, and don't hesitate to point out if I'm doing something I shouldn't in the wrong body. Like, holding your hand if your not comfortable with it, or something. I can forget, because I'm used to being anything at any time. So go an' talk about it between you two, and let me know when you've got it figured out."

Nabiki paused, thinking. _He said he's been locked multiple times since he acquired the curse… and had potential cures held in front of him. And friends (note the sarcasm he used there) push him towards molesters to keep them away from themselves. So it's been a busy two weeks, from China to here. No wonder he's so stressed. If I got cursed, locked, unlocked, had a cure dangled in front of me, locked again, unlocked, another cure failed, been pervert bait a couple of times, then arrived here and told I'm going to get married right after I meet the girls… I suppose I'd be on a short fuse, too._ (1)

She leaned over to Kasumi to share her observations, noting that her sister looked… unusually nervous about something. Her eyes were darting around, and she was wringing her hands together. Repeating her conclusions to her older sister, including personal observations that Ranma looked neither dishonest nor inclined to be mean, did nothing to ease the elder Tendo girl, but it's didn't seem to add to her stress, either. Nabiki frowned, wondering what was wrong with her.

_Maybe she doesn't want to get married? Or maybe she thinks this is her last chance to? Does she want to accept for fear that she might never be proposed to, but wants to hold out for someone specific? I never could tell if she liked Tofu-sensei, or was just going over there to actually borrow books. Kasumi, I never could read you very well. She didn't start acting like this until tonight, so I think it's that suddenly she's being put in the spotlight again for the engagement. I don't think she wants it, but knowing Kasumi, she's too nice to reject him._ Nabiki turned her eyes to Ranma, wondering what was going through her sister's mind, as well as the potential martial artist fiancée in front of her.

Ranma was staring at her own hand like she was expecting it to leap off of her wrist and break out in song.

"Nabiki, do you think…"

"What was that, onee-chan?"

Kasumi's voice dropped down to a conspirational whisper. "Do you think he's…" Her voice got even quieter. "…serious?"

Nabiki blinked. "About which part?"

"When he said… that thing about…" Kasumi's question disappeared into mumbling.

Sighing, Nabiki leaned in until she was just a few inches from her sister's face.

"…about being able to…" Kasumi swallowed in anxiety. "… the… part where we can… go out and… have our own life?"

Nabiki goggled, before schooling her face into the impassive mask she sometimes wore around the town, especially when doing business. "Yes," she whispered back her sister, keeping her voice even and sincere. "I believe Ranma is serious about everything he just told us." _I personally think he was exaggerating his abilities a little, but most martial artists do that anyway. But about the rest…_

_CRACKLE-BOOM!_

Both girls jumped in shock and spun where they sat to look at Ranma… who was difficult to identify, since she was covered in black charring, her pig-tail sticking straight up from the back of her head. Her clothes were half gone, looking as though they had been a combination of burned and blasted off of her body. Ranma's hand was still held up in front of her face. Her eyes twitched in annoyance, from her perch of on top of Kasumi's desk, where she had apparently landed.

"Are you alright?" Nabiki asked, the first to recover her voice.

Ranma forced a smile at the two frozen girls.

-**HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?**-

"I'm fine," Ranma croaked, smoke billowing from her mouth when she opened it. "Owie…" She slid off of the desk, bouncing off of the chair, straight onto the floor, fingers twitching.

Kasumi laughed. Nabiki stared. Her sister hadn't laughed for real in years. She kept laughing, and laughing, until her sides apparently started to hurt so much that she had to wrap her arm around her ribs, and started hiccupping.

After a good five minutes of solid laughter, long passed when Ranma had recovered from knocking herself around with her own attacks, Kasumi began to wind down, but the hiccups remained.

Nabiki paused in thought, watching Ranma as she began to do… whatever it was with her hand that had led to blasting herself in the first place. _Martial artists,_ she thought to herself, _once they start on something, you can't get them to stop._ Turning her attention back to her elder sister, who was trying to suppress her hiccups, Nabiki's thoughts turned from the stubborn tendencies of Saotome Ranma, to the non-existent social life (or even scholastic life) of Tendo Kasumi._Maybe this engagement will be good for her… Kasumi has even less of a life than I do_, Nabiki thought to herself.

"Ranma," she stated, bringing the attention of the martial artist from her hand… and was it _crackling?_… over to herself.

"Yeah?" Ranma asked, half-looking at Nabiki, half back at her hand.

"Kasumi wants to accept the engagement."

"Oh?"

"Nabiki!" squeaked Kasumi, the shock of hearing the statement seeming to cure her hiccups. "I…"

Nabiki gripped her sister by the shoulder, and pulled her close. "Look onee-chan, I know that you want out of the house, even if you won't admit it. I know you'd also let me marry martial artist boy… girl… over there, just so you could know I was marrying someone who'd let me become whatever I wanted. But right now, I don't have room in my life for getting engaged, much less married. I've got one more year of high school ahead of me, then business college. I've got the next few years of my life planned out, and I admit I'd like a relationship, but I'd rather it wait until I've settled myself at a good job before then. You need to get out of the house more often, or you're going to turn into an automaton."

"Auto-what?" Kasumi asked, frowning in confusion.

"Jeez, and you used to give me vocabulary lessons," Nabiki muttered.

_CRACKLE-BOOM!_

"Itetetetete…"

-**WHAT DO YOU MEAN, **_**I**_** SHOWED YOU HOW TO DO THAT!-**

"Ok, stubborn tendencies of blowing himself up aside, Ranma seems like a good guy, and I think you need a relationship, and a chance to get out of the house. So, you're getting engaged to Ranma." Noting the pensive look on her older sister's face, Nabiki persisted. "Hey, Ranma mentioned that his dad might have engaged him to other people, right? So even if you don't like him, you and Ranma can call everything off later, saying you need to settle any other possible engagements he might have. C'mon, big sis, if you really don't want to, I can find you the loophole out. At least this way, you have a chance to do something that isn't housework."

Kasumi nervously bit at the tips of her fingers a few moments, thinking it over. She would _never_ admit it to her family, but Gods did she want out of the house, for something that wasn't shopping or anything else related to maintaining the house. The only time she got to visit the clinic to borrow books from Doctor Tofu were times when she needed to get out of the house for something else. She almost never got to return them, instead counting on her sisters, or even her father, to return them. The more she stayed in the house, the more the felt less like a person and more like… a robot, constantly having less and less time to do anything for herself. She'd recently started waking up well before dawn in order to keep the house properly maintained, going to bed even later the normal. A stray thought came unbidden into her own mind. If things kept up like this, what would her life be like, years from now? Unmarried, unskilled, incapable of leaving the house for anything but shopping or picking up supplies, caring for her family until they all left… except Kasumi didn't think her youngest sister ever _would_ leave. And she certainly couldn't care for Father, heavens no. Her cooking… or sewing… or even cleaning skills… Akane made greater disasters in her attempts at housekeeping than existed before she started. _She does try…_ Kasumi thought to herself.

_CRACKLE-BOOM!_

"Owie!"

-**BUT YOU ONLY EVER SAW ME PERFORM IT ONCE!-**

_I'd… I'd never be able to leave. Akane will take over the dojo for Daddy when he becomes too old to even think about being able to take on students. And who will take care of the house then? Nabiki might not be able to afford rent when she moves on to college, and might stay here until she can. Or maybe even through college, until she can find a job! And I… I'll be here the entire time. My family needs someone to take care of them, and without Mother, I must… must take care of…_

_"If you want to have a life, be my guest."_

_"I don't expect either of you to fall in love with me."_

_"If there's a job you've dreamed of having, try and get it."_

_"I don't need a maid."_

_"I don't need to have someone waiting for me when I get home, to serve me."_

_I… I want to get out! I want to have friends again! I want to be a nurse! I don't want to be old and unmarried!_

Unconsciously, Kasumi had started gripping the sleeves of her dress tighter as she thought, something that didn't escape the notice of her sister. Nabiki watched Kasumi wrestle with her own thoughts, wondering what was happening inside the eldest sister's mind. Ranma, she saw, didn't seem to notice the emotions flying around on her sister's face, completely preoccupied with the… the…

"Is that a _ball_ of _lightning_ you've got in your _hand?_"

"Huh?" Ranma said, looking up.

"I'LL ACCEPT IT!" Kasumi shrieked, causing both Ranma and Nabiki to fly towards the ceiling.

_CRACKLE-__**BANG**_ Came the sound from Ranma's right hand, and the discharge flung Ranma from her startled arc into the wall with a dull thud.

"Was that a _ball_ of _black lightning_ you had in your _hand?_" Nabiki shot at Ranma as the martial artist stood up, trying to process the impossibility Ranma had apparently conjured, before moving on to her screaming sister. "And did you just change into a _boy?_"

Ranma looked down at _him_self, and grinned. "I love martial arts."

-**TELL ME HOW IN THE NINE LEVELS OF HELL YOU ARE USING **_**MY**_** HELLFIRE THUNDER BLAST, YOU BASTARD! AND- Hey, you changed without water!**-

Ranma ignored the semi-hysterical demoness.

"I'll take it, I'll… I'll accept the agreement. I'll become your fiancée… Ranma-kun," Kasumi said, sounding somehow out of breath.

Ranma smiled. "Alright, Kasumi."

Then, Kasumi kowtowed in front of Ranma. "Please, regard me kindly!"

Ranma stepped back in surprise, "What are you, whoop-!" He tripped over the chair he had been sitting in a moment before, bouncing off of the desk, and falling forwards, right at Kasumi. Kasumi scrambled to get out of the way, but Ranma easily caught himself with one hand, and simply rolled up to his feet.

At least, that was his intention. Kasumi's rush to get out of the way meant that she bumped into the one hand on the ground, and knocked Ranma's elbow out. The end result was that Ranma fell over to the side, sprawling over Kasumi and entangling their legs, causing them both to roll halfway across the floor, landing against Kasumi's bed, with Ranma underneath Kasumi, who was laying flat across Ranma…legs straight out, and her arms wrapped in fright around his waist.

Both Ranma and Kasumi opened their eyes at the same time, blushed, and shot back from each other.

… right into the chair Ranma had tripped over and Kasumi's bed frame, causing Kasumi's legs to tangle and sending her headfirst into Ranma, and Ranma to bang his head against the wooden frame, making him sit up in reflex.

And a dripping wet Akane chose that moment to open the door, slamming it open with all the righteous fury she could muster.

"Wha- What-?" Akane stuttered, witnessing Ranma sitting against Kasumi's bed, with Kasumi flat on her belly, and her head in Ranma's lap, while Nabiki watched (well, more like stared in shock).

Akane rounded on the immediate cause of this act of perversion (or so she assumed), Ranma. "You stupid, foul, evil-"

"Akane, no! This was my fault!" Kasumi interrupted, managing to pull herself to her feet, and blushing heavily.

The youngest Tendo froze in place, with one hand raised to punch. "Y-Your…?"

"It was Ranma-kun's idea, but I was the one who wanted to. I was going to let Nabiki do it, but we decided it was best if I did." Kasumi explained. Nabiki bit her lip to keep from laughing. _I wish, I wish, I __**wish**__ I had brought my camera!_ she thought as Akane turned red from the cheeks up.

"You wanted… Ranma?" she asked, looking like she was having a hard time accepting the idea.

Kasumi nodded, while Ranma finally realized exactly how one of these situations looked from the _outside_, and why so many people were always laughing. Of Mara, nothing could be heard except for the most hysterical laughing. Kasumi was talking about the engagement, while Akane was referring to finding Kasumi face first in Ranma's lap, and whatever imagined perversions she had come up with.

_Wow, if I hadn't been in this situation a dozen times myself, then I'd probably be laughing my head off,_ he thought as Kasumi made things go from bad to worse by trying to explain that Ranma had said that he wasn't interested in doing it with Akane, but regarded Kasumi and Nabiki as acceptable, and in addition would let Kasumi do things she had always wanted to try but never could before. Akane, of course, drew even _more_ wrong conclusions, going fire-engine red in the face, before uttering 'perverts,' and passing out.

Nabiki finally fell over, cracking up, while Kasumi simply opted for looking completely and totally lost.

* * *

After several days passed, (in which Soun and Genma were informed of the switchover from Akane to Kasumi, which didn't seem to sit very well with the elder Saotome, for reasons that no one seemed to understand, but the fat panda laughed off whenever it was mentioned) Kuno eventually discovered the existence of 'the pig-tailed girl' and began an immediate pursuit. Sadly, this did not go very well at all.

For that matter, it didn't even go intelligently.

"…'if you want to give her your panda, give it to Saotome Ranma,' quoth Tendo Nabiki," stated Kuno. "How do you know my pig-tailed goddess?"

-**I thought you were exaggerating. He's like a goddamn brick.-**

"Kuno…" started Ranma. _Oh, man, this is gonna make me late, I just know it. Why, Kuno, just __**why**__ are you such a moron?_ "Forget about her, alright? Don't look at her if you see her, don't think about her, don't even… don't even throw bouquets of roses at her and tell her you love her, because… uh, because she's allergic. Just… oh, God, just fucking _**don't**_."

Ranma could actually _feel_ his temper fraying as he side-stepped a sudden downpour of water.

"Hey, what if somebody was down there?"

"Don't worry about it."

"WELL START WORRYING ABOUT IT, YOU MORONS!" the irate martial artist bellowed, leveling a glare that could start forest fires. Unsurprisingly, the water-wielding duo scrambled away fast enough to leave a dust cloud.

"Need a little help, Saotome?" came a voice that Ranma could actually _hear_ smirking.

"Yeah, you probably speak demented idiot, Nabiki. _You_ explain the curse to bokken-for-brains."

Nabiki smiled. "Of course."

"And Nabiki…"

"What is it?"

Ranma casually leaned up against a nearby tree. The temperature in the immediate area dropped fast enough to raise goose bumps along the middle Tendo daughter's arms. The tree developed a half-inch thick layer of frigid, gleaming _ice_ starting from where Ranma's hand was against the trunk, and rapidly enveloped every last branch and leaf. Nabiki's smile went from self-assured to self-preservatory.

"…don't say anything stupid, ok?"

Kuno began prodding the tree with the end of his bokken in wonderment.

"R-right."

Ranma watched from next to the tree as Nabiki dragged Kuno off.

-**Remarkable work.**-

_I'm sorry?_

-**The tree. It's an excellent manifestation of the manipulation of internal forces.-**

_… who did what now?_

-**… I meant that it was fascinating to watch you use your own ki to freeze it.­-**

_Ah. This ain't so hard. It's only that using ki this way isn't the way that most people do it. The Soul of Ice technique that Cologne taught me was just the beginning. I don't think she expected me to figure out the advanced stuff for myself. I was only supposed to know enough to perform the Hiryu Shoten Ha, but with the experience I gained fighting Saffron, I came to realize that there must be more that she told me._

-**What do you mean?-**

Ranma watched Nabiki grow increasingly frustrated as Kuno began to misinterpret Nabiki's explanations. At least, that was the impression he gathered from the fact that her body language grew increasingly erratic, and Kuno's more and more outraged.

_At first glance, the Soul of Ice looks like a technique to control your temper, and calm down from a rage, in order to fight better. But I know for a fact that anger, and even rage, have a place in martial arts, __if__ you can keep your control. I'm only guessing, but I think the Soul of Ice was originally created by the Amazons to combat challengers or warriors who either had berserker fighting styles, or who's battle auras were based around hate, or anger, and as a result, produced heat. Now that I think about it, the basic version of this technique would be protection against the Musk. They've all get animal ancestors, so it makes sense to think that battle auras of theirs would be more… angry, or something like that. Bloodlust, the desire to fight. Battle auras based on anger produce heat, the angrier, the hotter, and trying to fight hand-to-hand with someone whose mere presence scorches your skin… well, forget about it. The only two ways two combat something like that would be to be even __angrier__, but to generate more rage than a bunch of possibly wounded half-tigers and half-bears defending their territory…? Forget about it. The second option would be to get cold, hence, the start of the Soul of Ice. That bitch, Cologne, taught it to me only because there were no other options, it was the __only__ way I was going to fight Happosai on anything resembling an even level._

"Kuno, you're not listening, it's a _curse_, its _magic_, and there _is no pig-tailed girl!_ It's just a body that Ranma can wear!"

"Silence! Do not think you can fool the Blue Thunder with your base lies!"

-**So… the advanced?-**

_Again, I'm guessing, just __**guessing**__, but if I'm right, I'd say some Amazon Elder sometime way back when get it into her head that if the Soul of Ice they developed to use against the Musk was effective against 'hot' auras, then it could be taken further and used as a way to stand against, Saffron. Not enough to generate ice or a chill effect like he does fire, but enough to stand in his presence without being roasted. I mean, come on, the bastard could have wiped them off the face of the planet, three thousand years of martial arts or not, if he ever got it into his head to, unless they had __**something**__ against the fire. He's fucking __immortal__, really immortal, and when I fought him, everything was the fuck on __fire__… the Phoenix Pill can make you immune to extreme heat, if you're not affected by the Cat's Tongue pressure point, but I'll bet they're hard to come by, and you'd need a thousand of them, __**and**__ even then, I can't picture an entire village of Amazons going up against Saffron naked and unarmed._

-**…?-**

_The Phoenix Pill makes __you__ strong against getting burned, but not your weapons or your clothes._

**-Ah. Good point. So this advanced form…-**

_…creates actual cold. Taken to extremes…_

-**… you can even go and freeze trees.-**

_Only to an extent. There are limitations; either external or internal. I can generate a personal aura of cold that can protect me from fire, or I can freeze other things solid, as long as I'm touching them or they're __**very**__ close, but it's not anywhere near possible to do both at the same time. I tried it once a few days before we came back, and almost lost an arm. It's useless in an actual fight. Whatever I freeze has to __**hold still**__, avoid struggling, and __**let**__ me infuse it with my ki. I can't imagine that anyone would let me do that. Anyway, I figure the only reason Cologne never used or hinted at the advanced forms around me was that she was probably afraid I'd figure out the way it works, and if it's the only thing that lets them fight against Saffron and his people, she'd never want __**anyone**__ to have it. It just goes to show, the Amazons care nothing about what happens to outsiders, and only care for themselves._

-**How do you figure that?-** Mara asked, watching through Ranma's eyes as Kuno's eyes crossed in confusion under Nabiki's onslaught of attempted explanations.

_Cologne __**knew**__ I was going to end up facing either Saffron or someone wielding the Kinjaken, but she didn't even make mention of any kind of defense she knew against either. But I got a thousand yen that says she shoved another Phoenix Pill down Shampoo's throat before we left. The only thing that kept me alive was the Gekkaja. There was no way Cologne could have known that I'd get a hold of it, and even if I had, that I'd find the way to work it. She could have told me of the advanced form. She could have told me about the Gekkaja. She could have told me whatever she knew about Saffron and his transformation. Instead, all she told me was how the bird-people of Jusendo came about. She didn't even __**mention**__ Saffron, even though she knew all about him._

_Rather than let slip another of her precious Amazon secrets, Cologne sent me off to die._

"ENSLAVER AND DEFILER OF WOMEN!" shrieked Kuno. "PERVERSE TYRANT!"

Ranma groaned as he dodged, spying Nabiki clutching her head in frustration.

-**I think she only made things worse.-**

"Did you think that you would get away with such acts of cruel perversity?" Kuno bellowed, swinging wildly.

"What happened here?" Akane asked, walking up behind Nabiki.

"Tried to explain Ranma's curse. Kuno decided to listen in his own way."

"You mean like an idiot."

"…yeah."

"That you would enslave her own body and soul with your twisted acts of sorcery! That you would use her body for your own sick pleasures! You are no man; you are a demon made flesh! I WILL VANQUISH YOU! Then, the beauteous pigtailed-girl will be free, and I will show her that a true samurai like myself can show her comfort and pleasure in my arms, away from the likes of YOU!"

"THAT'S IT, I HAVE **FUCKING HAD IT!**" Ranma thundered, driving his fist into Kuno's face.

_**smash**_

"_I CAN'T STAND LISTENING TO YOU!_"

_**punch**_

"_I CAN'T STAND LOOKING AT YOU!_"

_**kick**_

"_I CAN'T STAND KNOWING THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT MY CURSED SIDE LIKE THAT!_"

_**gouge tear bend break bleed mutilate**_

"_JUST FUCKING __**FRY! HELLFIRE THUNDER BLAST!**_"

Black lightening split the sky, arcing over Ranma's hands where they dug into Kuno's chest. The kendoist began to scream. Akane tried to pull Ranma off by way of knocking him in the head, and was backhanded into a wall for her trouble, even as Ranma continued his assault on Kuno.

It was only when she heard the snap of bones that Nabiki finally unfroze, and threw herself into Ranma, knocking them both into the ground. Kuno dropped like an empty sack.

"Get off me or die," the pig-tailed martial artist said coldly.

"You're going to _kill_ him if you don't stop!" Nabiki shot back.

"That's the general fucking idea," Ranma snapped back. He waved a series of pictures in front of Nabiki's face. "Recognize these? I'm sure you do, since _you're_ the one who took them, and then _sold_ them. You want to join him in Nerima General Hospital?"

Nabiki paled. "Y-you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't what? I wouldn't beat the amateur pornographer who sells a borderline stalker half-naked pictures of the girls he obsesses over to within an inch of her life?" Ranma's eyes narrowed. "I'll let him go. Today. But we'll be talking about this when we get home, believe it. I've been used more in my life than any other dozen people in this school combined. I'm _**not**_ going to tolerate it. Not from my old man, not from your father… and certainly not from _you_."

The world spun in frightening circles around Nabiki's point of view as Ranma literally threw her off. The middle Tendo sister looked up at Ranma's back as he left.

"It's not pornography," she said spitefully.

"Then perhaps I'll take pictures of _you_ topless, and sell them to Kuno. I wonder what his reaction would be? Make no mistake," Ranma said as he left, "as soon as we're alone in your room, you're going to have to prove to _my_ satisfaction that you weren't deliberately sending an over obsessive delusional maniac who doesn't mind beating girls around out for an attempted rape, because that's all that I see right now."

Nabiki did prove well enough that she wasn't to get Ranma molested (or worse), but Nabiki couldn't be angry with Ranma ever since the word _rape_ left his mouth. Although no psychologist, she had read enough to believe that Kuno Tatewaki was _delusional_ enough to believe that whatever affections Kuno showered upon a girl were not only welcome, but invited. Ranma kept repeating his idea of selling half-nude pictures of Nabiki, and she shuddered to think of Kuno's obsessions turned on her. It seemed kind of ok when it was Akane, she beat him up all the time, and with Ranma it was kind of funny, since he was really a boy. In the end, although Ranma crushed her camera down to the size of a ball bearing while staring her in the eyes, burned her negatives, and left with a great deal of the money she had made, Nabiki realized that she got off lightly. If someone else had turned Kuno loose on her after making sure that he was sufficiently 'in love' with her, then she would probably have done much worse.

That night, Ranma announced that he intended to get a job. The money that the pictures had pulled in, although no large amount, was still a decent sum, which is what caused Nabiki to begin to wonder what Ranma needed the money for. It would be a question that would come visit her mind a great deal.

Akane kept a distance of several feet from Ranma, Kasumi, and Nabiki at any time, except at the dinner table, where she changed from her usual seat to right next to their respective fathers, making Kasumi sit next to Ranma. When she eventually remembered that Kasumi had said that Ranma wasn't interested in doing 'it' with her, and stopped keeping her distance (after Nabiki charged her 1,000 yen for the telling of the full story). Akane apologized to Kasumi, but did _not_ apologize to Ranma for the misinterpretation, but instead, demanded that he apologize for throwing her around at school during the Kuno mess.

For several days, Ranma continued to baffle Nabiki to no end by creating black lightning out of nothing, but his attempts to actually use it as a weapon were met with little success. While Nabiki watched, Ranma could generate enough of it to power several of the surrounding houses (by her estimates) at any given moment, but it didn't want to let go, instead crackling and racing all over his body whenever he would try to fling or propel it in any given direction. It had the side-effect of forcing Ranma to immediately change genders, even without hot or cold water.

The 'side-effect' alone made learning the technique worth it, in Ranma's opinion, even if he fried himself no less than half a dozen times before managing to control it enough to not electrocute himself. Still, it frustrated him to no end that he couldn't yet use it the way it had been intended

Mara finally managed to pry the whole story of how Ranma was able to use a magical attack when he had no knowledge of how to use magic in the first place, and also lacked any kind of magical reserve to call upon, since he'd never trained for that kind of thing.

_I watched when you got rid of that dark thing right after you merged with me_, Ranma thought at the demoness._ I could feel __**exactly**__ how you did it, I guess since you were in my head. The everything, from how it was shaped, to the charge time, to the amount of power you needed, the source of power, and the delivery of it. That's why I'm so mad that I can't seem to throw it. I know how you did it, but I just can't make it do what I want._

-**Forget that, just tell me how you're even managing it! You don't have any magic at all, you shouldn't even be capable of something like that. Even if you did, the Hellfire Thunder Blast is a **_**very**_** high ranked attack. It's not that mortals **_**shouldn't**_** be able to perform it even if they knew how, it's more that they **_**couldn't**_**. The amount of magical power required, while low by my standards, is **_**staggering**_** for a mere human. Only a human that had been training for all their life could probably pull it off, and even then, only after a century of dedicated practice, and even **_**then**_**, it'd kill them in the attempt, unless they had some **_**serious**_** protection in place. I mean, I'm a demon. To me, calling upon violent, chaotic energies is like breathing, but you should be a charred pile of meat after the first try. There's no chance a mere human could just **_**have**_** a magical reservoir large enough to do that on their own, unless they had Godly or Demonic heritage. And before you ask, the answer is **_**No, you do not!**_**-**

There was a long silence as Ranma thought that information over, that ended when he asked, _What do you mean when you said I don't have a magical re… what was that phrase you used?_

-**Magical reservoir. It's like your ki reservoir, only filled with magic, instead of ki. And it's a bitch for humans to expand on.-**

_Does it feel like my ki reserves? Like a big empty place filled with a force that I can tap?_

-**Yes,-** Mara replied after a moment of thought. –**It would feel something like that, I guess. Not even having ki, I can't compare directly, but you should feel a tingling kind of sensation when you pull at it. Why?-**

_Because I've got a big thing of magic inside of me. I just pull at it when I'm trying out your Hellfire Thunder Blast._

Mara's response had been immediate. -**Show me.**-

Ranma had simply directed his attention inwards, feeling towards where he had sensed that force that felt almost identical to what Mara had powered her own attack with. _It's… __**there!**_ he thought at her. Mara investigated, and discovered what had to be the smallest trickle of magic in existence. It wasn't a pool of magic, it was more like… a thread. She 'followed,' tracing it back to the source. _Where is it coming from? Has he tapped into something, or maybe he's come into contact with a greater magic object, and has somehow bonded with it?_ The 'thread' expanded, leaving Mara in front of a vast, untapped power. Threads led away from it across the astral plane in all directions. Ranma was just one of many, but his was the only one that seemed to sing with power, probably because he was the only one pulling at the source. Others gave a twitch, but that was probably others triggering whatever effect or condition that had resulted in their own bonding in the first place. She was disappointed to discover that when she got close to the source, it reached for her. It seemed that accessing the magic, or even coming into contact with it, forced a bond, making it useless for Mara to try and tap. She certainly wasn't going to bond with earthly magic, no way.

Expanding her senses, Mara felt around for the name of the reservoir, looking at the source from a bird's eye perspective. A large valley, isolated for the most part. Pools littered the landscape, with bamboo poles sticking in the earth.

Ranma didn't have a magical reservoir, but he had found one he was bonded to.

Jusenkyo.

Ranma had tapped into the power of the oldest, largest chunk of unending magic power on his half of the hemisphere.

_You gotta be fucking __**kidding**__ me!_ Mara screamed inside her head. Forcing herself to calm down, she did realize that it certainly explained why Ranma would change genders if he covered himself in lightning. Covering himself from head to toe in the magic of Jusenkyo simply activated the curse, one way or the other.

When she explained all of this to Ranma, he had laughed, and simply replied, _Well, I guess I got something out of the curse after all!_

It was pretty ironic, Mara realized. The source of one of Ranma's biggest problems was also the source of his newest attack. Sadly, this revelation did nothing to help Ranma throw the lightning around. It still stubbornly clung to him, causing an instant gender switch if he generated too much at one time. Still, Ranma refused to give up. Mara gave several helpful tips, but nothing worked.

After a little while, Ranma realized that he had managed to avoid having his neck being set at a ninety-degree angle by a Kasumi-exposed Tofu. He also realized that he hadn't really met the man yet, not having a reason to visit him. He was in the middle of thinking about what to do about Dr. Tofu on his way to school. Nabiki had cleared things up around the school regarding the confusion surrounding the engagement (and had probably made a few yen while doing so). Kuno, while relieved that Ranma was _not_ engaged to Akane, still occasionally attacked Ranma to release the pigtailed girl. Considering that the kendoist was still covered in casts and bandages, he was little more than an annoyance, and Ranma simply snapped whatever weapon the idiot happened to be wielding whenever he was in sight.

_What to do about the Doctor, though_, Ranma thought to himself. _He does know martial arts, but he shouldn't be a problem if he gets violent. On the other hand, I don't think he knows about the engagement yet. I wonder how he'll take it. I do __**not**__ want some crazy man with too much knowledge of how to manipulate the human body on my back. Maybe I should sit him down and just tell him the circumstances? He'll understand, if it's an arranged marriage. On the other hand, it's __**Kasumi**__ we're talking about, the Doc gets weird whenever she gets brought up…_

-**I hate to interrupt your inner monologue of trying to avoid more problems in your life, but you should probably know that there's this guy about to land on you…**-

_Oh, him. Is it really time for that idiot to show up?_

"RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!"

_Yup, that'd be him._

Deftly avoiding the incoming lead umbrella strike, Ranma did a neat handstand, driving both of his feet into Hibiki Ryoga's face.

The Lost Boy hit the pavement with a loud _splat_, and didn't get back up.

"Who's he?" Nabiki asked, leaning over Akane to get a view of the unconscious boy.

"Hibiki Ryoga, a guy I knew from school a few years back. Likes to attack you when your back is turned if you're stronger than him. Or weaker than him. His reason's always the same, too. 'You've made my life hell, and now I'll have my revenge!' Never tells you _why_ his life is hell, either. You usually have to figure it out while you're dodging the umbrella."

"This thing weighs a _ton!_" Akane said, trying to pick said umbrella up.

"It's good for training," Ranma pointed out. Akane nodded in agreement. Hauling it around would be good for strength training.

"The only other problem with Ryoga is, he's got a curse, like me."

"He turns into a girl, too?" asked a voice from the gathering crowd. This was followed by questions about what kind of girl, what she looked like, and whether he could change at will in a shower of black lightning.

"He doesn't turn into a girl, he turns into a piggy." Ranma grinned. This time around, he'd never made that stupid promise.

-**Not like it mattered in the first place, baka.**- Mara pointed out. -**You seem to have told the **_**neighbor's dog**_** that you wouldn't reveal its secret. What horrible secret did the dog have, anyway?**-

_Shut. Up._

"A _pig?_" Akane asked, surprised.

"Uh-huh," Ranma said, grinning wider. "A little, pot-bellied, black piglet, nowhere near as strong as his human body, with the same stupid headband Ryoga wears around his neck."

"Sounds worse than a girl," Nabiki pointed out casually.

"Maybe, but I've never used my curse to act cute and bury my face in a girl's chest."

Akane, who had been checking over the Lost Boy for injuries, dropped his face into the concrete. "He's a _pervert!_" she instantly concluded.

It took a great deal of control through the Soul of Ice not to scream with laughter. "If rubbing your face in a girl's chest, and then sleeping in her bed without her knowing that the little pet pig she found is really a guy, then… yeah, I guess he is."

Akane made a disgusted face at the unconscious cursed teen, and stalked away to deal with the Hentai Horde's latest gathering. Ranma idly wondered if he should beat them all into painful submission, just to avoid the hassle.

"That was a pretty quick reaction you showed there," Nabiki said, walking next to Ranma as they entered the school.

"Yeah, well, having someone drop out of the sky, screaming about your death will do that to ya."

"Good point, Saotome, good point."

* * *

Later, when Ranma was at home, Kasumi brought over the challenge letter, which actually showed up a day _before_ the challenge date, instead of after. Ryoga couldn't even keep track of time, it seemed. Not that Ranma expected Ryoga to show up on time for the challenge, but he did have a plan to break the Lost Pig's local reputation before it even started. He worked out the details with Mara while he cleared a local park of a small gang that had been scaring some of the residents.

On the day of the challenge, not a week later, but the _actual day_ written down, Ranma stood on the field behind the school. A large portion of the students had shown up, and Nabiki could be seen wandering around, checking for the best angles for pictures, and taking bets.

Ranma himself had placed two thousand yen on Ryoga not showing.

He stood in the middle of the yard, waiting. Ranma ignored the whispers coming from around him about the fight, and just waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

By the time two hours had passed, the whispers had changed from the outcome of the fight, to when the challenger would show.

Another two hours, and the whispers became related to _if_ Hibiki Ryoga would show.

By the time the sun had reached the horizon, people had stopped whispering, and were talking in loud voices that this had been a waste of time, and Ryoga obviously wasn't going to show.

When the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and seven hours had passed since Ryoga was supposed to show up, Ranma hammered the last nail into the coffin of Ryoga's reputation.

"IF YOU WERE TOO AFRAID TO FIGHT, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ISSUED THE CHALLENGE!" he screamed into the air. "_**COWARD!**_"

And everyone around him could only whisper in agreement.

* * *

A week later, Ryoga showed. Ranma wasn't waiting for him. There was no crowd gathered to witness the fight, and most people were startled to even see him. In anger, he stopped several of the passing students and demanded to know where Ranma was. When the response was almost always, "Probably in class," Ryoga loudly bellowed that Ranma was running away from the fight, like the weakling that he was. The response to _that_ was even more surprising than the Lost Boy had figured. Everyone within earshot wore a disgusted face, and several openly called him a coward for showing up a week late. More than one simply turned away from him, and walked away.

"But I got _lost!_" Ryoga objected. "Ranma should have waited for me!"

"You got _lost_?" someone from the dispersing gathering asked. "And then what? You didn't ask for directions?"

"Or catch a taxi?" someone else interjected.

"Find a map?"

"Ask someone to walk you here?"

"And you expected Saotome to _wait_ here for a _week_ for you to find your way? You are a coward!"

And the students of Furinkan High turned their collective backs, and left for their classes. It wasn't worth being late to listen to someone who was obviously a coward try to explain why everything was all Ranma's fault.

* * *

It was to a great surprise when Ranma returned to the Tendo home, that he found Akane with a smile on her face, evidence of recent crying staining her cheeks, and remarkably short hair. Unable to figure out how _this_ had managed to happen again, he was somewhat amazed to learn that Ryoga had apparently gone into a rage, and threw several bandanas in random directions before leaving the school grounds, one of which had gone right for Akane's head. It was only good luck and her own reflexes that saved her from being scalped, but she had twisted her ankle dodging, and it had lopped off her long hair. Doctor Tofu had taken care of the sprain (Ranma guessed correctly that things had gone just like before at the Doctor's) and Kasumi had fixed up her hair.

When asked about whether she had seen Ryoga after that, Akane's expression turned to the familiar losing-my-temper face that Ranma was so familiar with, and she loudly declared that she'd teach that cowardly, bullying, hair-chopping baka of a so-called martial artist a lesson the next time she saw him, monster strength or not!

"Ryoga, that jerk!" she yelled.

Ranma refused to tell anyone why he was laughing so damn hard.

* * *

(1) This is Nabiki working with what information she has. She doesn't think he's lying (since, really, he's not), and assumes what she can based off of the limited information she currently possesses.)

Now go and read chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:

See Chapter 1

* * *

For those who may wish to know what's taking so long, I'd like to annouce that I am the father of a beautiful ten month old baby girl! Her name is Setsuna (No one here is Japanese, we just like it), and she's very, _very_ active.

* * *

Going to start doing some heavier deviation from the canon storyline here, but things are always going to show up to try to keep it going the way it was. Not that Ranma's going to let that slow him down. Also, after several people stated, and I'm inclined to agree, that the fight with Kuno was more glossed over and ignored by me than anything else, I've expanded that part, and really written the fight. So, if you want to see the difference, go back to chapter 2 and check it out.

_**SHOWTIME!!**_

* * *

Nabiki was quite tired, and so had gone to bed early. That being said, she was very, _very_ annoyed when an unknown voice from the next room bellowed into the night air the following phrase: 

"WAKE UP, DAMMIT!"

Somehow managing to convince herself it wasn't really happening, and that she was too tired to care, Nabiki began to fall back asleep. Then, there was a loud, high-pitched, whistling sound, kind of like what one of her older teachers had described as the sound of an artillery shell flying through the air, followed by the sound of a loud splash. Disturbed by the whistling sound, as it resembled her alarm clock, she staggered over to the window, intent on finding the source. A quick shove opened the curtains and the window, revealing the Tendo yard in all its dark, rainy glory. There was a small black piglet swimming in the koi pond, and Ranma was leaning out of his window, yelling "I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" His father was waving around a battered sign that read '**QUIET!**'

It took a moment for Nabiki to process what was happening. When she did, she came to the conclusion that it was time to do something about it.

On her way downstairs, she figured it all out. Ryoga, the piglet outside, had entered the house at this absolutely _ungodly_ hour to restart his fight with Ranma. While Nabiki currently didn't particularly care about Ranma and his fights unless bets (and therefore money) could be made on them, she did care _very much, thank you_, about getting a good nights' sleep. How was she supposed to concentrate in class if she was exhausted?

"Hello, police?" Nabiki said into the phone "I want to report a burglar in the area. He just broke into our house and tried to assault one of our guests. His name is Hibiki Ryoga. He's about sixteen years old, wears a yellow shirt and black pants, with a yellow bandana around his forehead…" Nabiki briefly entertained the idea of equally placing blame on Ranma, but eventually decided against it. He hadn't looked very amused at being awoken by Ryoga either, and besides that, the image of him grinding Kuno into the dirt was still a little too fresh in her mind. She could understand, somewhat. She knew of Kuno's sister, and if Nabiki had an attractive 'male form,' she'd spend no inconsiderable amount of time making sure that Kodachi never encountered it. In any case, Ryoga was the one who had forced her from her bed. She finished up the phone call with an estimate of Ryoga's strength using the ease with which he had handled the lead umbrella as a guide, emphasizing that Ryoga was a high-class martial artist, and they should be careful if they saw him.

In Nerima, nervous cops on the lookout for powerful martial artists usually meant teargas, tranquilizer darts, and tazers. _That'll teach him not to make me get up in the middle of the night._

Nabiki _hated_ not getting her full eight hours of sleep. Stupid pig.

* * *

"Stupid Ryoga," Ranma grumbled to himself as he made his way down the hall for breakfast. "If he wants to fight, he can issue a challenge letter, and actually show up for it." _And I am __not__ guiding him to the scene of the fight. He can get help somewhere else. It's __his__ problem if he expects me to cater to his every whim._

"Damn right," grumbled Nabiki, stepping out of her room. Ranma was surprised that she cursed. "Waking me up in the night like that. That'll teach him."

"What'll teach him?"

"Reported him to the police. Told them he broke into the house, which he _did_, and assaulted the guests, which he _did_. That'll keep him from showing up and ruining my beauty sleep."

-**She's vindictive. I like her.-**

_What's vindictive mean? If it means evil, you're right._

With a stretch, and the thought of good morning workout ahead, Ranma wandered down the stairs, with Nabiki in tow. When he reached the living room, however…

"Oh, god. Nabiki, please tell me you're seeing this."

"What?" she asked, peering around the suddenly-annoyed martial artist.

Seated at the dining table was her father, Genma, and Akane. Kasumi was smiling and serving some tea to her father, and Akane held, of all possible things, a little… black… piglet.

In her lap.

Which was happily nuzzled into her chest.

"Nabiki, Akane _was_ there when I explained about Ryoga's pig curse, right?"

Unable to voice herself properly at this sign of her little sister's remarkably small ability to listen properly, Nabiki could only nod in surprise as Akane fed some rice to her "cute little P-chan!"

"Akane, where did you get that… pig?" Nabiki asked.

"I found him in my room!" Akane declared. "Isn't he the sweetest little thing? I think he must have run into the house to escape the rain last night."

"I give up," Ranma muttered to himself, but loud enough that Nabiki managed to overhear. "She's too stupid to survive. The whole 'I'm a martial artist' thing was bad enough, but this…"

Annoyed beyond belief, Ranma dropped into his seat by Kasumi, and dug into his morning rice, casting severely annoyed glares at the bandana-clad piglet, who seemed oblivious to Ranma's presence, basking in Akane's attention. Nabiki, on the other hand, was still coming to grips with her sister's most recent bout of stupidity.

"Akane…" she started, causing her younger sister to look up from her 'pet.' Nabiki frowned, and shook her head vigorously.

Ranma cast a glare at the piglet in Akane's lap. _Probably doesn't even realize that he never made it out of the back yard, and thinks he's in a home in Okinawa. Stupid, no sense of direction little…_

"Akane," Nabiki tried again. "Do you remember a few days back? A guy falling from the sky, screaming about Ranma's immediate demise, got totally knocked out in seconds?"

"Um… Ryoga, right?" Akane replied, sounding unsure about this line of questioning. The piglet, happily lost in his own little contented world, wasn't paying any attention at all. "What about him?"

"Do you remember… _anything_… about what Ranma said about him?" _There is no way_, Nabiki thought to herself, _that Akane can __**not**__ pick up on where I am going with this_.

There was a pause, as all members of the Tendo household looked at Nabiki, to Akane, to Nabiki, and back again to Akane.

_Um…_ Akane thought, trying to wrack up everything that had happened in those moments over a week ago. "Ranma said… that Ryoga… is a pervert who slips into girls' beds and rubs his head into their chest!" she concluded triumphantly.

All eyes swung to Nabiki. "Anything else? Something he might have in common with Ranma, perhaps?"

Ranma muttered some unsavory words under his breath, stabbing at his rice with a quiet _tak tak tak tak._ Kasumi turned red, but Soun could be heard muttering, "Sounds like something the Master would make a woman do."

Genma slapped a hand over his friend's mouth. "Speak not the name!" he insisted.

"They're both perverts," Akane answered at length, giving Ranma the evil eye. "But… I think… there was something about a curse…"

_TAK TAK TAK TAK!_

"Ranma-kun, you're going to break the bowl if you keep doing that," Kasumi said gently. Ranma grunted, but slowed his rabid attack on his rice.

"Single-minded, sis, that's all you are," Nabiki mumbled, and sat down at the table. Ranma, on the other hand, seemed to lose any semblance of control over his temper, and slammed his bowl down onto the table. He whirled right where he sat, facing Akane.

Akane cringed, thinking that he was going to yell at her. She did _not_ want to revisit the koi pond.

"_**HEY, RYOGA! FUCK OFF AND DIE, PIG-BOY!**_"

The effect was immediate. The piglet's eyes snapped open, and he launched at Ranma with a rage-filled "BWEEEE!" Rolling his eyes, Ranma caught the rival-turned-living lunchmeat with one hand, ignoring both the pig's grunts and Akane's squeals of protest.

The hairs on Nabiki's arms stood on end as Ranma frowned in concentration while he held on to the squirming pig. "EVERYBODY DOWN!" she screamed, diving for the underside of the dining room table.

_CRACKLE-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-_

"BWEEEEE-!" screeched Ryoga-pig as dark electricity sparked out of Ranma's hand, electrocuting the piglet.

-_CRACK-CRACK-CRACKLE-CRACK-_

"-EEEEEEEEE-"

_CRACK-CRACKLE-CRACKLE-_

"EEEEeeeee…"

_CRACK!_

"Stupid pork butt passed out. So much for my morning entertainment," Ranma chuckled, hefting the piglet like a baseball.

The Tendo family members slowly crawled out of the collective hiding places they had run for at Nabiki's panicked warning. Awestruck or horrorstruck faces adorned them all, having witnessed the disturbing phenomenon of watching Ranma _electrocute_ Akane's new pet bare-handed.

Well, awe or horrorstruck except one.

Akane flushed red with rage as she watched her precious P-chan's legs twitch in reflex.

"You- you- you… _YOU STUPID JERK!_" she screamed, throwing herself full-tilt at the smirking martial artist.

Ranma threw Ryoga side-arm style, resulting in the same artillery-whistling sound that Nabiki had heard the night before. He barreled into Akane's stomach like a cannonball, driving her to her knees with a _whuff_ sound as her breath was driven out of her. The piglet flopped to the ground, still unconscious.

"Stupid girl," Ranma snarled, advancing on the helpless Akane. "You don't pay attention to anything at all, do you? Are you so pathetically self-absorbed that _nothing_ that disturbs your precious perfect world can be allowed?"

"Boy, that's no way to treat your _hkkkk_"

"Pops, the rest of what you were about to say had better not have been 'fiancée.'" Ranma snapped, grinding his father's face into the dining room table. "She's not my fiancée. I don't even _like_ her. And I'm engaged to _Kasumi._ You remember her, right? The one who-" He threw his hand out behind himself, resulting in a ball of ki leaping out of his hand, through the air, into the chest of an advancing Tendo Soun, who was promptly folded in half from the impact even as he was blown out the door and into the yard, finally impacting the outer wall like a runaway rocket, unconscious. "-cooks the food around here, takes care of the house, allows your lazy ass to live in comfort? Probably the most unappreciated person who lives here? I don't know what your deal is with this insistent desire of yours to engage me to Akane, but _when_, not _if_, but _when_ I find out, and it turns out to be another of your stupid ideas that sets your lazy ass to retirement while I actually work to support you, I'll break your head open and use your empty skull as a rice bowl. Are we clear on this?"

"_Hrrrrkkkkk!_" came the enthusiastic reply.

"Excellent!" Ranma declared, and threw Genma into the koi pond. To make things a little quieter, a quick Moko Takabisha followed, ending with both fathers now unconscious.

"Gods, I _hate_ you people! Look what you're making me do! I have to get all angry and upset just to make you idiots _listen_ to me, and every time I do, I just know I'm going to end up ranting! I can't take this!" _At this rate, I'm going to end up like a… a…_

-**Ruthless dictator ruling with fear?**-

_Yes! Ergh!_

-**Just beat her around until she gets the point.**-

_Are you kidding? _Ranma thought, rattling Akane around by her shoulders, completely ignoring her (admittedly useless) attempts to free herself. _No amount of 'I'm in a bad mood' is going to let me get away with knocking Akane through the floor!_

-**So fight her, stupid.**-

Ranma stopped shaking Akane. _What?_

-**Just fight her. Or is there some strange human rule not letting you do that?-**

_Er…_

**-Don't tell me it didn't even occur to you.**-

_…Shut up,_ the martial artist grumbled, dropping the youngest Tendo.

"Akane…" Ranma grinned in a way the made (conscious) Tendo family's hair stand on end. Nabiki attempted to hide behind Kasumi, an effort that was wasted as Kasumi seemed torn between supporting her new fiancée and hiding, and as such she settled for sitting down and pretending to be invisible. "I challenge you. You have five minutes to meet me in the dojo."

"Like I'd fight a perverted lunatic like you!" she shot back from the floor.

"Practitioners of the Anything Goes style are not allowed to refuse a challenge. To do so is to renounce the Art. Four minutes, fifty seconds. I'll be waiting."

* * *

"You have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this," Ranma told Nabiki. 

"Are you insane?" Nabiki demanded. "You barely even know my sister. For all you know, she's got the strength of King Kong and the durability of Godzilla." Really, she was trying to keep her sister from being turned in Akane patties by way of Ranma's fists.

Kuno was _still_ sporting casts, after all.

"I have been forced to be engaged to, and deal with, girls like your sister for far too long. I will not be this one's punching bag just because your spoiled princess of a sister needs to be babied like an angry toddler." He turned a baleful eye on Nabiki. "And I won't _let_ you let _her_ treat me like I'm her personal bitch because you and your elder sister are too busy keeping her Akane-comes-first view from slipping into the real world. I am no one's whipping boy."

"How would you know anything, Saotome?" There was something buried in Nabiki's tone of voice. A pain long buried, but not forgotten. Ranma already knew what it was, and already had an idea of how to use it. A part of him didn't like it, but another part, the part of him that was _trying like hell to get away from this life_, knew that if he wanted freedom from the fiancée's, from his _father_, that it would have to be done.

-**Careful, boy, you're slipping. She suspects something.**-

_Somehow I don't think 'time travel' is crossing her mind, Mara._ "I know perfectly well that your mother is dead. It's been ten years, Nabiki. Your sister needs to grow up. You think the rest of the world is going to keep treating her like glass just because you and Kasumi are too afraid of hurting her?"

"_Shut up_," Nabiki snarled. "What would you know about how it feels to lose your mother?"

"Because mine's been dead since I was six," Ranma stated blandly, staring into Nabiki's shocked face. He was lying, of course, but at _this point in time_, his father had made sure that Ranma was supposed to believe that Saotome Nodoka had died a decade ago. He already had several half-formed ideas about how to 'find' her. Truth be told, he missed his mother (half-baked ideas of manliness aside), and as soon as he could think of a way to get around the 'manly son' syndrome, he'd contact her.

"What?" Ranma continued, as Nabiki seemed to have lost the ability to speak. "You think that me an' my old man wandered without a home for ten years because we were _bored_ or something? You've got a shrine right here in the dojo for your mom; I don't even know where mine's freakin' _buried_. I don't even know _how_ she died. I've never burned incense or left an offering for her, so don't tell _me_ how bad it is for you 'cause she's dead. Get up an' get over it. You're treating Akane like she's gonna break like a piece of glass, and because of that, she's thinking that everyone else in the world's gotta treat her the same an' bow down and tell her how much better she is than them, or they're targets for her temper." He frowned as a scowling Akane stomped into the dojo in her gi, with a nervous Kasumi right behind her. "And she's gotta learn that there's people out there better than her in martial arts. No matter how good you are, there's _always_ someone out there who's so tough he can get back up no matter how many times you knock him down."

"What about you?" asked a subdued Nabiki, still reeling from the fact that she hadn't know about Ranma's 'dead' mom. "Who's the one out there who's better than you? And who's better than him? The flaw in your theory is that, in reality, there's someone who's got to be the best."

"'The best'?" Ranma echoed. He chuckled as Akane stretched. "You know how you know when you're the _best_? It's when you beat your master. Then you beat _his_ master. Then, the best takes on every single challenger who can face him. And then he's gotta beat them, and he's gotta beat them so fast and so skilled, that he's not only standing, he's barely sweatin'. And when he climbs over the mountain of defeated masters and beaten challengers, and he thinks that now everyone else, even the _sun_, is at his back, he's really the best, he finds the one person who he ain't _ever_ gonna beat, cause _that guy_ is just as fast as you, can fight longer than you can, been training just as long, and can't even feel your punches. The guy who's _supposed_ to be the best spends the rest of his life fighting him, and never wins, cause the faster the _best_ gets, the faster _he_ gets. You can't even find anyone to spar with to beat him, 'cause now your better than everyone else."

"So who's _that guy_? The one the best can't beat?"

Ranma grinned, like he was about to answer the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. "Me."

"…"

-**…-**

"What?"

"…THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!"

-**WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GETTING THIS CRAP? THAT'S RIDICULOUS!-**

Ranma snickered as Akane and Kasumi looked up in surprise. "Yeah, ain't it cool?"

"-**NO!**-" Nabiki and Mara bellowed in unison.

"Too bad for you."

"I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked, jerk!" Akane snapped, falling into an offensive stance.

Ranma's response?

"Feh."

"Ranma… are you sure you're going to be ok?"

Ranma gave Kasumi a flat look. "… I'll be fine. Worry about the brat." When Kasumi continued to look concerned, Ranma rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can be the referee, if you're that worried."

Kasumi blinked, before turning to Akane. "Fight will be until knockout, submission, or until one of you can no longer continue to fight."

Nabiki backed into a corner as Akane readied herself to charge. This could get ugly.

"Begin!"

WHAM!

Pain. Great, blossoming pain. Akane managed to locate the source as Ranma's fist buried in her stomach. Her lungs wrenched as they attempted to overcome the impact and resume pulling in air.

Akane fell to her knees, gagging, when Ranma pulled his fist from her gut.

"Holy shit. Kasumi, did you even see him _move?_"

"Uh-uh," Kasumi replied, thinking she must have missed it when she blinked. Which was funny, since she hadn't yet blinked.

Ranma stepped back and waited for Akane to regain her feet.

"Come on hotshot, we ain't got all day. Ryoga wouldn't even have stopped moving if I'd hit him like that."

"… jerk…" Akane wheezed. After a few more moments, she staggered to her feet, and threw a high roundhouse aimed perfectly as Ranma's skull.

Ranma's head wasn't even near the same spot by the time the kick was halfway there.

"Too slow," came a rumbling voice from _way_ under Akane's defense. Her eyes widened in shock as she witnessed Ranma coming up and in for another hit. _Did he go under my strike…?_

BAM!

Both of Ranma's flat palms drove into her ribs on her right side. For a moment, Akane sincerely believed she was flying, a concept which was firmly disproven when she impacted the dojo wall.

Kasumi started to her feet, but was held back by Nabiki's hands. She shot a concerned look at her sister.

"It's a challenge, oneechan. I don't like seeing Akane hurt, but he's not really doing anything but embarrassing her. Look," Nabiki said, gesturing at the fight.

Akane came out of the wall at running speed, throwing a haymaker from her right. Ranma dodged easily.

_You fell for it!_ Akane thought triumphantly, pulling the punch in, and turning it into a spinning back kick.

She crashed into the far wall a few moments later.

"Kuno could have seen through _that_, hotshot."

"See?" Nabiki whispered. "Ranma's first hit was just him trying to determine how much Akane could take a hit. The second was a soft blow that knocked her back, and then a throw. He's not going to really hit her until the fights almost over. All he's doing is proving a point."

"WhoaoOOhh!" Akane howled as was hefted and then thrown in the manner of a bowling ball, stopping upside down on her head against a wall.

"Steeeerike!" Ranma laughed. "Try again, hotshot."

"QUIT CALLING ME THAT!"

"Alley-oop!"

THUD!

"ARGH! DIE!"

THUD!

"JERK!"

WHAM!

"TRY THIS!" Akane screeched, flinging herself in the air, and trying to dive-kick into Ranma's shoulder. By the time she was properly angled for the attack, her target wasn't there anymore. Akane landed on the floor with a light tap. Ranma was right behind her.

Not that she noticed.

"He _vanished!_"

Akane spun, trying to find her target, only to meet with empty air. Ranma simply turned around with her. Akane attempted to locate her errant challenger in a similar manner four more times, and met with little success.

Nabiki giggled.

"HA!" Akane thundered, rotating at the waist, and throwing an elbow strike into her blind spot. Ranma rolled his eyes from his new position.

Mere inches above her head, hanging by his knees from the rafters.

"NO GOING INVISIBLE, YOU CHEATER!"

"What's the matter, can't find me?" Ranma rasped into her ear.

Akane spun and threw a punch that would have taken an engine out of a mid-sized sedan.

If she hadn't thrown it at gut-level.

Since Ranma had lowered himself to hang by his feet, this meant that her punch went a good twelve inches under his head.

"Now you just look stupid, hotshot," the martial artist stated, rolling his eyes.

"QUIT DOING THAT!"

Ranma smirked. "Okay."

"This is gonna hurt…" Nabiki said, wincing in anticipation.

CRACK!

That would be the sound of Ranma's knee impacting the underside of Akane's chin as he did an elaborate double-flip to land on his feet.

"She's out," Ranma stated in a mild, amused tone.

"Um… winner, Ranma!" Kasumi declared, and ran in search of the first aid kit.

"That was _fast_," Nabiki stated.

"No. That was _slow_."

The middle Tendo sister stared at Ranma. He raised an eyebrow at her in response. "I could have just knocked her out with the first hit. I wanted to make sure she remembered that I hit her at least once. This way she can't claim I cheated, saying she just passed out. When she wakes up, you might wanna drag her off to Doc Tofu. Nothing's broken, but she's gonna have a bruise shaped like my fist on her stomach for a while."

* * *

"Kasumi," Akane whined as she applied a balm to her stomach. "Why didn't you call him out? He was cheating!" 

Ranma snorted as he attempted to squeeze P-chan's head into a football shape behind Akane's back.

Kasumi, on the other hand, was now torn between comforting her youngest sister and defending her new fiancée. She fidgeted in discomfort for a moment, before deciding that simple honesty was the best way to go. "But there was nothing I could do. He wasn't cheating."

"He went INVISIBLE! That's CHEATING!"

"I was hanging from the rafters. And before that, I was hiding behind your back. If I was going to use my invisibility technique in a fight, I'd let you know in advance so I could see the look on your face when you would say 'it's impossible' just in time for me to vanish in front of your eyes."

"You can become _invisible?_" Nabiki demanded.

"More like hard to notice. I could be standing right in front of you, but your eyes would just go right over me."

"A Somebody-Else's-Problem field, eh?"

"A what?"

"Nevermind."

"Cheater! You couldn't have won!"

"Akane," Kasumi said softly. "We all saw. Ranma was just… too fast."

Akane scowled. "It wasn't fair. Next time hold still and let me hit you!"

"Can you even hear yourself, hotshot? 'Hold still and let me hit you.' What are you, five?"

"Too fast, too strong, too skilled, too experienced. Face it, Akane, Ranma could whup your butt anytime he wanted."

Ranma stared incredulously as Nabiki picked on her younger sister. _What's that about?_

"You… you… _you're all against me!_" Akane screamed, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. She shoved herself to her feet, and ran for the stairs, crying all the way.

"Don't forget _your stupid little P-chan!_" Ranma roared after her, punting the pig directly at Akane. She somehow managed to catch him, but wasn't expecting the splash of hot water that covered them both less than a second later.

* * *

"You know, Saotome, that was quite fight you performed," Nabiki said, flipping through a page in her manga. 

"Pfft," Ranma sounded, giving the impression he was dismissing her comment, which, in actuality, he was. "By this time tomorrow, all she'll remember about it was that I was insulting and making fun of her, and that Ryoga is her precious piglet. Nothing else will sink in. I could flatten her into the pavement blindfolded and with my legs bound together just to prove that my dedication to the Art has granted me much greater skill, and all she'd do was accuse me of cheating. Hell, I knocked her into the wall with just the back of my hand during that Kuno thing, and she doesn't even acknowledge it. The mere concept of intense work for great skill wouldn't even enter her head. You know that."

_Yes, __**I**__ do, but how do __**you**__ know that?_

"That's all well and good, Saotome, but this is my room. Please find somewhere else to do your hand-stand push-ups."

Ranma gave her an annoyed look from his upside-down position. "Kasumi's cleaning my room, and Akane's using the dojo and most of downstairs to beat Ryoga. Sneaking into Kasumi's room to do _any_ kind of strenuous activity would have your father dragging a priest here by his robes. Besides, no one comes into your room unless they want something from you. It's the quietest place around."

"Well, when you put it that way…" _But couldn't you put your shirt back on?_

* * *

"Tendo, I'm surprised about you." Genma said, eyeballing the shogi board for the next best move. This was somewhat more difficult that it sounded, due to the bandage covering his nose. 

"What about, Saotome?" Soun asked back, trying to ignore the sounds of heavy violence that his youngest daughter was inflicting on a certain newly-discovered pig-boy. His attempts at scratching his head were thwarted by the wrappings that went around his skull.

"I would have thought that you would have raged at my boy for the way he treated us." _Click_, as Genma moved his piece.

"I didn't, my friend, for the same reason that once upon a time, you supported me when I was like that." _Click_.

"Oh?" _Click._

The fathers, of course, had paid Nabiki for the story, but she'd left out a great deal. Mostly she simply told them of her 'pet' and of Ranma's negative opinion of Akane's skill. The rest was Nabiki's secret to keep, and there was more here than met the eye. If Tendo Soun knew _everything_ that Ranma had done, he'd have likely terrorized the boy into a coma.

"Because, Saotome, the boy is right. At least, in regards to my daughter's skill. There's no way I could ever bring myself to say such harsh things to my daughter. I suppose I could blame him for saying such things, but I see too much of myself in him to treat him so. If the boy were engaged to Akane, I wouldn't have let him speak like that to her, but, as it stands, he is not." _Click._

"I don't know, Tendo. I think they could be good for each other." _Click._ Genma leaned out of the way, deftly avoiding a naked, screaming Ryoga (trying to blame Ranma) and a pursuing Akane ("RYOGA NO HENTAI!").

"Kasumi is gentle, and, I admit, the most traditional and calm of my daughters. I love them all, but I do believe Ranma could use an influence like her to tame his temper. If you can recall my high school days, my temper was once considered a thing to be feared before I met my dear departed wife." _Click_. (Genma ignored the few tears that rolled down his friend's face at the mention of his deceased wife.) "His doesn't seem to be much better; that thing with the Kuno boy. If you recall, there was once an incident involving myself where three boys were hospitalized for cornering the girl I later dated, and then married."

"I remember it well, and your father damn near had you caned for it. Ranma is much more skilled than you were at his age. You have to admit now, looking back, that your temper got you into more trouble than anything else, especially that time!"

Soun waved his friend off. "Back to the matter at hand; I haven't forgotten that the arrangement was for any of my girls. We can switch the engagement at any time. But, I believe that my Kasumi can cool Ranma like my dear Kimiko did for me." _Click._

"By the way, Saotome, is there some reason you keep pressing for Akane to marry Ranma? Surely, you're not _suggesting_ that there's something _wrong_ with my Kasumi?" _CLACK._ Glare.

"No, no! Of course not! Kasumi is a sweet girl, indeed! I merely wanted to point out that it might be beneficial if the martial artists of the families married each other!" _Click._

"Like I said, the boy needs someone to cool him off, and Kasumi is as gentle as my wife once was. _Look, Saotome, its Mothra!_"

"What? Where? I don't see anything!"

_Clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick!_

"Say, Saotome, it looks as though I've won!"

* * *

"Ranma-chan, I don't understand why we're out here." 

"Simple, Kasumi. We're here for training."

"Training?" Kasumi asked, glancing around. "This is the shopping district… and I don't practice the Art. Not since I was… um, seven, I think. And even then, I was really just imitating Father, not anything for real…" Was Ranma encouraging her to train for some reason? But then why weren't they in the dojo?

"What kind of training, Ranma-chan? Ranma-chan? Ranma?" Kasumi blinked. Where had she disappeared off to? Was this the training? Was she supposed to find her? Was that why Ranma had changed into a girl? Because she was smaller that way? Kasumi blinked in bewilderment, lost on what precisely she was supposed to do. She didn't really want to learn to fight…

"You're such a sweet little girl!" came the voice of a vendor from behind her. "Here, have another bun- for free!"

"Oooo! Golly! Thank you so much!" replied the squealing… Ranma? Under Kasumi's disbelieving gaze, Ranma giggled and flirted her way into a _second_ free meat bun.

"Here, Kasumi, you can have this one," Ranma said, handing over the final bun she had received for free.

It slipped between Kasumi's fingers, and thumped against the ground.

"…"

"Are you alright?"

"How did… what you were… training?"

"Of course," Ranma replied, grinning. "When I'm cruising for eats, this girl body is the way to go. And I'm going to show you how."

Kasumi slid several feet backwards in seconds. "Wh-what?"

"This is going to be fun."

* * *

It was a glowing Kasumi and a hysterical Ranma that eventually departed the shopping district for home. Two buttons were missing from Kasumi's dress (Ranma had snapped them off), and she was being followed by a small wagon full of groceries, happily being pulled by a female Ranma. 

"Most of this is yours, you know," Ranma said, grinning. "I think I got the rice… and the wasabi peas… and maybe the fish… didn't we work together on the fish? But the rest is yours. I still don't know how you got the watermelons, they weren't even for _sale_; they were part of the vendor's _lunch_."

Words resembling _indecent_ and _improper_ floated back to Ranma on the slight breeze. She was also pretty sure that there was something called a _scarlet woman_ thrown in, but Ranma wasn't sure what that was.

"Scarlet woman? That kind of phrase isn't found outside of trashy romance novels. (Not that Ranma had ever read one, but Mara had several… dozen… dozen.) How many of those have you been reading, Kasumi?"

An embarrassed, indignant squawk of guilt shot of out Kasumi's mouth before she could stop herself from responding.

"I would guess that would mean 'Daddy would roll over and die if he found out I had that many,' right?"

"Smurgly!" Kasumi said, or something like that, and blushed to the roots of her hair.

"Eh?"

"I… I misbehaved so…" Kasumi whispered.

"Misbehaved? Are you serious?" Ranma demanded. "Look at you! You flirted with men, you're showing less skin than Nabiki's school uniform, and you enjoyed yourself. Don't deny it; you wouldn't have kept it up if you didn't. Congratulations!"

Kasumi turned to look at Ranma, confused. Ranma rolled her eyes. "You're _nineteen_, Kasumi. Today, you actually _acted your own age_. I thought you wanted to get out."

The eldest Tendo daughter blinked in surprise… then gave a tiny smile. "I… suppose."

Ranma smiled at her current fiancée. "Good! You think you're going to be alright if you walk the last few blocks home by yourself? We took longer than I thought, _since you had to have the watermelons_, and I had planned on using some time today to clear out some muggers in the park near Furinkan."

"I'll be alright, Ranma-ch…-kun," Kasumi said, correcting herself as Ranma changed genders in a flash of dark electricity.

"Ok. See you at home!" Ranma shouted over his shoulder, bounding up to a nearby rooftop.

Kasumi smiled, and continued on.

"Acted my age…"

* * *

-**Forgive me for asking what is probably obvious to you, but I thought you said you weren't in love with any of these girls.-**

_I'm not_, Ranma responded, taking a leap from the edge of a rooftop.

-**Then why are you helping this Kasumi girl?-**

_I'm not._

-**It sure **_**looks**_** like you are.-**

_From a certain point of view, I suppose it does._

Mara waited for Ranma to continue, but grew frustrated when he remained silent.

-**WELL?**-

Ranma chuckled at the irate demoness. _Do you remember, before I came back, what I did to Kasumi in her room?_

**-Some. I was kind of groggy at that point. I mostly remember you making her scream and cry.-**

_Not my fault. Well, yeah, I made her scream and cry, but I'm not the reason she did it, really. It was more her father's fault, than anything else. I admit to having partial responsibility, but it's nothing compared to what her father did._

_You see, I noticed something, the first time I talked to Kasumi after we 'joined.' I wasn't in a good mood, and I took it out on her father, and mine. I stormed the living room, smashed everything in my path, knocked Akane through the dining room table, even pitched Nabiki out a window and into the pond when the tried to talk down to me. But Kasumi… Kasumi took it all in stride. She didn't blink, didn't tell me I was doing wrong, she didn't even stop smiling. I was all ready and willing to place blame on her for the way she pushed me off on Akane when I got here, but… there was something __**wrong**__ with her. I punched a hole in the wall next to her head large enough to fit my old man through. I told her I was going to kill her father. All she did was smile._

_I wasn't the only prisoner in that house. I was being held there for more than a year, but Kasumi had been trapped inside that place ever since her mother died._

_When I cornered her in her room right before we came back, it took a lot of work for me to break her mind. Pressure points designed to lower a person's defenses, ki techniques to scare her. I had to badger her non-stop for half an hour before she crumbled. _Ranma sighed as he bounced over a light pole.

-**So what's the story?**-

_When her mother died, Soun fell apart, and he forced his eldest into her mother's role as caretaker of the house. She was __**nine years old**_

_Can you imagine what it must have been like for her? She's __**nine**__, her mother dies, her father promptly has a nervous breakdown, and then he forces her to take over her mother's work, while continuing school._

-**It's a wonder she didn't have a nervous breakdown, herself.-**

_I think she learned to cope, but after she graduated, she had to throw herself into caring for her family. There was no way she could go to college. She had to care for everyone. She had to be her mother, and I suppose, to a nine-year-old, Mom is the smiling face that always loves you. She became that, and nothing else. When I came around, I shocked her, and her normal, if stressful, routine. To Kasumi, to strangest thing she had probably encountered were the stories her sisters told her of Kuno's 'fight to date' rule. I was much more than some second-hand story. I was a shape-changing martial artist who can bounce over buildings, toting Chinese assassins, a panda for a father, and I make funny noises when confronted with cats. I get up almost as early as her so that I can beat the shit out of my old man, I have weird reflexes she's never seen, I routinely am found in yelling matches with her youngest sister, and I brought with me, mostly because of my father, too much random crap. She fell fast enough into her work, and her father insisted she __**had**__ to stay and keep her family cared for. Pops probably kept her in the kitchen more than anyone. I eat a lot (ok, I eat a WHOLE lot), but pops is a machine unto himself. I was too wrapped up in my own weird life to notice what was happening to her. Kasumi was like a background character, only speaking when spoken to. My __**honor**__ kept me trapped. She was stuck there because it was the only life she could really __**remember**_

_By the time you came, Kasumi was simply too broken to do anything with. She needed probably __**years**__ of therapy. When I broke through to her, through the walls keeping that smile on her face… I don't think you were paying attention at the time. She screamed, she cried, threw things, cursed, destroyed her room, then took it out on the person she thought was most responsible, her father._

-**So that was why she was beating him when we left.-**

_Yup. In a way, it's a good thing you came along when you did. If left alone, Kasumi would have snapped by herself, and probably killed someone. I don't love her, but I would rather spare her that fate. Admittedly, she had no choice in being nice to me, it was all that she was by that point, but she was the closest thing I had to a friend in a very long time._

_I'm simply returning the favor._

_The only thing I want out of this engagement is a way __**out of this fucking house.**__ And the only way I'm going to get that is if my 'fiancée' backs up my every move._

-**And if you keep your word, and give Kasumi the life she really wants, instead of trapping her at home…**-

_She'll support everything I do._

-**Clever. For a human, I mean.-**

Ranma landed nicely in a public park. It took all of five minutes for him to locate the would-be thugs trying to harass some girls from school. Ranma flew at them like a runaway rocket.

"COME ON!"

* * *

The guys over at TFF, most notably nucleardeathfrog, were quite insistent that even with only 6.7k words for this chapter, I should at least post what I've got.I was inclined to agree, and spent a few minutes doing some last minute polishing and setting a place for it to end. I hope you all enjoyed it. 


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